Think about the film's mise-en-scene. Choose a scene in the film and discuss the mise-en-scene (costumes, set, lighting, props, etc.) and its relation to the scene and the film as a whole. Use at least 2 hearty paragraphs for your discussion.
And please post your favorite line from the film.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn the film, Bringing Up Baby, mise-en-scene, is a very important component. From costumes to set it all plays a role in our feeling and what we take from the film. Costumes in the film are indicative of character. For example, Susan wears very frilly and eccentric outfits showing her wealth and her quirky, almost childlike character which is demonstrated throughout the film's plot. In contrast, David is very plain in his nature. His dark and simplistic work clothes as well as his glasses show him as an intellectual and as an average man caught up in her problems. The mise-en-scene, in this case sets up the conflict. We see they are no where near a match which allows us to realize their unlikeliness of any connection but at the same time, due to Ms. Swallow's extreme similarity to David, we hope for it.
ReplyDeleteIn the scene where Susan tries to show David the leopard, we notice the use of set to convey characterization. Susan's room, although she is a full grown adult, appears like that of a little girl's. Everything looks white, the chairs are small, everything is laced and it is complete with a childlike desk and her own phone like that which a girl uses to call friends. This invokes a feeling of immaturity that allows us to further realize she will toy with David as much as possible throughout the film. This contrasted when they are on the phone with David's study which has large bookshelves maps and globes. His area is darker and more wooded as compared to her light and lacy room.
My favorite quote would have to be "Because I just went GAY all of a sudden" since it was hilarious and also he was actually gay so it has a double meaning.
that is an insensitive and immoral quote to chose. you should be ashamed of yourself
DeleteThe mise en scene plays an important role in this film. The costumes in particular are very important. Especially Susan’s clothing, her extravagant, rich looking clothing portray her as the upper class. Her clothes often have something large or frilly added on to bring more attention to her. This is also a comment on her loud, different personality.
ReplyDeleteAnother key element of mise en scene in the film is the certain locations of things that happen in the film. For example susan playing with the olives in the fancy restaurant contrast each other. This silly little trick in the restaurant makes the situation even more comedic and entertaining. Another contrasting location is the forest. Our two characters are not the outdoorsy type. And placing them in the woods makes the scene all the more comedic. Watching them fumble about the brambles cluelessly is hilarious to watch.
My favorite quote from the film was when Huxley is in the parking lot of the golf course and Susan says “Well you choose the funniest places; this is a parking-lot”. I like it because it is funny and is just another demonstration of Susan’s silly humour.
What a delightful little quote
DeleteBringing up baby
ReplyDeleteThroughout the majority of the film, David finds himself in Susan's world, acting as a pawn in her game as she tries to win him over. However, in the scene beginning at 1:38, when Susan walks into David's museum, she enters his world for once, as is represented by the mise-en-scène. This is apparent due to the contrast between Susan and her surroundings. The museum is mainly white. It looks plain and boring, while Susan is in her usual eccentric attire. She wears a dress and a hat, which makes her appear glamorous in a boring place such as the museum. Even more explicitly, she wears black sparkles, contrasting the plain white background. David is on top of the ladder on top of the dinosaur, which is much different from how we see him throughout the majority of the film. Instead of seeming goofy and out of his element as he is in Susan's world, Susan is now out of place in his, representing her first genuine attempt to show him how much she cares for him. In the past, her attempts had all been silly antics, such as taking his clothes all the way into town to be cleaned when he was in the shower to prevent him from leaving.
In addition to costume design, props play a role in this scene as well. For example, Susan brings David the final bone he needs to make his dinosaur skeleton complete. This is the bone that he was carrying earlier in the film at Susan's house, which her dog stole and buried. This is a symbol of Susan's love for David, because in order to bring it to him, she must have spent a great amount of time searching for it because she knew how important it was to David.
My favorite quote in the film was when David says "Now it isn't that I don't like you, Susan, because, after all, in moments of quiet, I'm strangely drawn toward you, but well, there haven't been any quiet moments" because not only was it funny, but it is an accurate representation of his relationship with Susan. She liked him the whole time, but he was too distracted by all of the commotion to notice. However, once their situation calmed down, he found that he really did have feelings for her.
David and Susan unexpectedly meet for the second time in a restaurant. They are both wearing fancy outfits. The tables are all full of well dressed people, which shows that the place is popular and classy. David is wearing a tuxedo, contrasting with the plain outfits he wore earlier in the film, showing that he is out of place in the middle of all the rich people. He stands outside the main room, worrying about what to do with his top hat. It seems that he isn’t used to the etiquette that comes with such fancy events. Susan sits along, learning tricks from the bartender, showing that she's bored of her rich lifestyle and seeks other forms of entertainment. When David walks in, he slips on an olive Susan dropped and crushes the top hat that he had just been worrying about. This is an example of how she constantly messes up his life in small ways.
ReplyDeleteTowards the end of the scene, Susan rips David’s jacket and her own dress on accident. She doesn’t realize her underwear is exposed, and won’t listen to David when he tries to tell her to stop. He has trouble telling her directly that her dress has ripped over her trying to argue with him. The short quarrel that they have over this is another example of how comical their miscommunication can be. They leave the restaurant together, relying on each other, with torn outfits and David’s crumpled hat. Their relationship is silly but they work together to solve their problems from here on.
My favorite quote in the film is from when Susan and David first meet.
David: “You don’t understand. This is MY car!”
Susan: “ You mean THIS is your car? YOUR golf ball? YOUR car? Is there anything in the world that doesn’t belong to you?
David: “Yes, thank heavens! YOU!”
I thought this was a funny back and forth, because what David says is so mean but it doesn’t phase Susan. She is still interested in David even when he’s mean to her, and David still feels he should help Susan even when all she does is cause him problems. It's also ironic that David feels this way in the beginning, since he will later fall for her.
Screwball comedies have distinguishing mise-en-scene that creates joyful feelings from the audience. With costume, set, lighting, and props creating character the scenes, this film creates a very unique mood throughout the film. The scene I chose was when David meets the leopard for the first time and a little before that when Susan convinces David.
ReplyDeleteThis scene is important to the film as a whole because it adds a point the two main characters’ personalities. The most noticeable factor of this scene is the lighting through which the design of the two rooms David and Susan are placed in, in the beginning of the scene, portrays the light in a meaningful manner. We see that David’s apartment, has a balanced amount of light. He himself is in a dark suit, blending in with the balanced amount of light and dark in his whole setting, as he is moving around as well. This setting would present an average american citizen to the audience.
On the other side of the spectrum is Susan along with her costume and setting that molds her personality into a bright and cheery character and prepares the audience to a further extent. The first costume that she is wearing matches almost every single prop/ item in her apartment. The terms speaking of everything being white of or a whiter color. This almost exaggerates the positive and optimistic nature of the glorious and beautiful Susan. Since her costume and props bring so much of an outrageously bright and cheerful mood, David’s personality is soon to be seen of even a more averaged businessman type character.
Diolog and sound also has an important presence that is present throughout the film and this scene. In my opinion there were many quotes/lines from the movie that were of my liking like: “David: [Pointing to a mark on the golf ball Susan just sank] There you see, it's a circle. Susan: Well, of course it is, do you think it would roll if it were square?”
Mise en scene contributes to the situational humor that can be seen throughout the film, "Bringing up Baby". Many of the best hilarious moments of the film come from the clever use of set design and character action to create situations in which the main character finds themselves in a frustratingly simple predicament. One such situation occurs during the scene in which Susan tears her dress at the party. Just like many of the other problems, this one begins in a very simple manner. The two characters are on stairs in a medium closeup so the audience has no way of knowing that David is standing on Susan's dress. But, as soon as the shot changes to a slightly wider view from behind David, Susan ascends the stairs and a distinct tearing sound can be heard. This simple mishap results in an embarrassing situation for the protagonists.
ReplyDeleteThe mise en scene contributes to this sequence in many ways. First, the predicament is caused by Susan's ridiculous costume. Her "dress" appears to be a flashy, quirky, and unconventional piece of clothing; these words could also describe her character. David's outfit, like his character, contrasts with Susan's quite drastically. He wears a formal tuxedo with coattails and a top hat. The stairs in the scene are the main cause of the problem. Initially, Susan tears David's outfit because of the turn in the stairs. But later on, it is because of the stairs again that David accidentally steps on Susan's dress. So, the stairs both contribute to the mise en scene, and cause a hilarious problem for the film's protagonists.