This screencap is a wide aspect ratio, medium to close up shot. There are five people visible in this shot, which is outside on what looks like a large lawn. One man is slightly to the right of the center, in an eye-level close up. The frame cuts off everything but his chest up, as he appears to be on his knees. His hair is jet black. Bright red blood pools in a
laceration under his right eye. He stares to the left of the shot. His mouth is agape. He is not wearing a shirt and his hands are up in the air.
Four armed men in olive drab uniforms surround him; three over his right shoulder and one to his left. The man to the right of the frame is pointing either a rifle, shotgun, or similar firearm at the man in the foreground. The other three uniformed men have nothing in their hands, but a pistol is visible on the one closest to the first man. The man on the ground and the armed men
are in focus, but anything beyond the men is out of focus. In the background is the lawn upon which they stand. The lawn is framed by a wall in the very back which spans the width of the frame. To the left of the frame lies a pool or fountain. Behind the water feature is a large, brown, spherical sculpture. In the background there are several trees. Behind the wall appears to be a building with some additional foliage of its own.
Chao-an appears to be in an unwinnable situation, but the reality of this shot is that he truly has just won. He singlehandedly fought Hsiao Mi and his gang to avenge the innocent people they took advantage of. He also appears to be either confused, shocked, concerned, or a combination of the three. He is likely contemplating what he has done, as it has many repercussions. He has broken his vow to his mother to abstain from violence and he has killed many men. As the officers surround him, he knows there is nothing to do; while he did what he thought to be just and fair, it was still a crime. Furthermore, he is in a situation in which his true nature is exposed to his potential love interest, Chaio Mei. She witnesses him fight and kill these men.
Hi Damian,
ReplyDeleteYour comments are great!You perfectly depict all the scenes in this lens according to the template in the first chapter of the book, and even observed the spherical sculpture behind water, which really makes me impressed. Not only that, you have very unique understanding of Bruce lee's psychological activities. The words "condused, shocked and concerned" perfectly represent all of Bruce lee's hard feelings. It perfectly shows Bruce lee's entangled and regretful attitude, and he also firmly believes that what he has done is right.
Finally, it would be nice if you could describe the scene a little bit more! For example, the police were called by Chaio Mei, etc. In this way, readers may have a better understanding of why Bruce lee is at such a psychological state.
Thank you for the feedback. I didn't think it was that impressive to note the spherical sculpture, but even now that I look at the image again, I am noticing more (what appears to be a pole of some sort to the right of the sphere, the shiny belt buckle, the awards and cords on the outfit). In terms of the contextual description, you are absolutely right. My time frame of analysis was very limited. I should have described more of what led up to this exact moment. Thank you for pointing that out.
DeleteDamn, Damian, damn. Damn good screen-cap analysis. There is a lot to describe in this shot, and I think you captured it all. You could have said something about the guards only being visible from the neck down, but I think that's the only thing you missed. On the contextualizing paragraph, you could have given a bit more detail on the events leading up to this shot, and maybe a bit of what comes after, although there's not a whole lot to say on the latter point. Other than those criticisms, very well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ben. Yeah, I focused so much on what I could see that I forgot to include what I could not see (the guards cut off by left, top, and right sides of frame, the fourth man covered by the man in the middle and the man whose head is cut off by top of frame). I am definitely noticing that my contextual analysis is a little lackluster. My mind was so focused on this specific scene and not those surrounding it. Thanks for the positive words!
ReplyDeleteDamian I love the fact how you analyzed the aspect ratio, as well as discussing the fact that Chao-an has basically broken all his morals and now is basically in an unwinnable situation. This is a complete paradox to most Hollywood films where these sort of protagonists usually get a happy ending.
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