Critical Investigation: Task #1

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS



    

The Handmaid's Tale S01E03 | Protest Scene


The Handmaid’s Tale is of great significance to this current generation where female rights in certain countries are abolished. For example the fact that abortion is illegal in Ireland.Furthermore, this series has been used as an example in the argument that the likeliness of this lifestyle has significantly increased from when Trump became the President of The US. Nevertheless, its significance is also linked back to the portrayal of women and resilience through the series. The beginning of the clip shows the empowerment of a community protesting in what they believe in. This clip, in particular, is significant has it represents the pivotal point in which the protagonist Offred has a flashback to when she  “... was asleep before, and that’s how I let it happen, when they slaughtered congress we didn’t wake up, When they blamed terrorists and suspended the constitution we didn’t wake up them either"  
The harsh lighting reflects the hostile environment reinforced by the actors and their expressions- anger and hatred. By using close up camera shot and the slow pan between each protester it allow the audience to feel part of the up rising. At 0.24 seconds of the clip the contrapuntal sound begins which reflects the confusion and anger between both men and women. This is equally portrayed through the close-up at 0.45 what reflects the fear of the unknown which plays a part in the narrative.
Similarly,the sound of the protesters has been drowned out making this scene all the more powerful- portraying how civilians are quite literally being dismissed. The lightening also reflects the mood- gloomy, dark also reinforced by the cinematography. The camerawork emphasises the tension between the establishment- (government) and the civilians.
The slow motion in the editing, allows both the characters and the audience to take in the scenery and digest the confusion and fear. 

The Handmaid's Tale S01E03 | Hanging Scene


In this specific scene, lightening plays a key part. At 0.05 seconds the lighting is used in a biblical sense where the "government" is convicting a handmaid of sin. The camera almost instantly cuts to the handmaid which has been left in the dark with little lighting suggesting her worth in the court room- nothing in comparison to all the high ranked men. Similarly, shown through the camera focus, at 0.12 seconds the handmaid is in focus telling the audience that she is what they should be focusing on. However, at 0.015 second the camera focuses on the male "witness" while at the same time the handmaid (Ofglen) is blurred reinforcing her irrelevance in this society. Then at 0.19 seconds the medium shot is slightly tilted to a high angle shot to reflect that she is being looked down on also, with the body guards by her side has implications of danger and restriction. The next cut at 0.28 once again, uses the lighting to underline what is important in this case the   






The Handmaid's Tale S01E01 | Particicution Scene


This scene also



   

The Handmaid's Tale S01E09 | “Pinky Swear” 


This scene consists of 








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