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FOA #3 Part 1: Language in cultural context (Language and social groups)
Original Release Date: July 11, 2014
Genre: dystopian, thriller, action, dark comedy
Directed by: Bong Joon Ho
(Daily Dead, 2016)
Giannakouris, P. (2019).
(The Essential, n.d.)
(Mysanantonio, 2014)
(Independent Ethos, 2014)
(Heroes Wiki, n.d.)
(Villains Wiki, n.d.)
(Meredith Corporation, 2015)
Wilford
Creator of the train
Mason
Minister
Curtis
Leader of the revolt (lower class)
Wilford
Creator of the train
- passengers are told that he is "sacred" and "eternal"
- Prototypical image of a fascist dictator, a powerful figure who is free of the damage he causes
Curtis
Leader of the revolt (lower class)
- protagonist of Snowpiercer
- A tail passenger who resents Wilford's rule
- Determined to lead a violent revolt to get passengers from the tail to the head and overthrow Wilford
Mason
Minister
- second in command to Wilford in the Snowpiercer
- ensures the lower class passengers are kept in their "place" by abusing them.
- Bong stated that Mason is “kind of a fake person, a snob” and that she can be seen as the “worst kind of politician” (Bong 2014).
Allegory
surface > survivors stuck in train, lower class wants to improve living standards
deeper > represents our real world and illustrates the very wide inequality between the socio-economic classes
The shoe is used to symbolize the lower class and shows their preordained position,
on the ground
The hat is used as a symbol for the
higher class and shows their
preordained position, on top
LANGUAGE ELEMENTS
Analyze how audience and purpose affect the structure and content of texts
"This is so disappointing.
Cut that out - I only have seven minutes.
(He lifts the shoe)
Passengers, this is not a shoe. This is disorder. This is size ten chaos. This - see this - this is death."
Parallelism
"In this locomotive we call home, we have but one barrier between our warm hearts and the bitter cold."
(waves the shoe)
"Clothing? Shields? No! Order! Order is the barrier that holds back the frozen death. Order. We - all of us Passengers on the Train of Life - must remain in our allotted stations. "
"Clothing? Shields? No! Order!"
"Clothing? Shields? No! Order!"
Rhetorical Question
"We must each of us occupy...
(waves his hand in a peculiar motion)
...our par-tic-u-lar, pre-ordained position!
(Mason places Andrew’s shoe on his head) Would you wear a shoe on your head?
Of course you would not wear a shoe on your head.
A shoe does not belong on your head. A shoe belongs on your foot.
A hat belongs on a head.
I am a hat and you are a shoe.
I belong on the head - you belong on the foot.
Yes? So it is."
Parallelism
Repetition
"Why am I a hat, you ask?
What prescribes order, you ask?
In the beginning, order was prescribed by your ticket. First class, economy, you get my drift. Eternal order is prescribed by the Sacred Engine."
"Why am I a hat, you ask? What prescribes order, you ask?"
Parallelism
- the phrase "you ask?" in the end of Mason's sentences show that she acknowledges the lower class passenger's supposed confusion and disagreement regarding her speech
- Conveys that she is the person in authority, as she is the one with the information to answer the lower class passenger's questions
- creates rhythm so the speech is compelling to listen to
"Why am I a hat, you ask? What prescribes order, you ask?"
Rhetorical Question
- Creates a patronizing tone
- Emphasizes the points of the speech
- Captures attention
- Mason answers it the question: "In the beginning, order was prescribed by your ticket. First class, economy, you get my drift. Eternal order is prescribed by the Sacred Engine," thus conveying that she is the person in authority since she has the answers
“eternal order”
- register: formal, direct
- Minister Mason reminds the passengers that the class system must be maintained to keep the system of government working,
- often used by important figures to exert their power that may even enslave the public’s mind
- "eternal order" : proclaims that what she's saying are facts and the absolute truth, making her points hard to argue
"All life flows from the Sacred Engine and
all things in their place,
all Passengers in their Section,
all water flowing,
all heat rising pays homage to the
Sacred Engine......in its own par-ti-cu-lar pre-ordained position.
Yes? So it is."
"All life flows from the Sacred Engine and
all things in their place,
all Passengers in their Section,
all water flowing,
all heat rising pays homage to the
Sacred Engine......in its own par-ti-cu-lar pre-ordained position.
Yes? So it is."
- shows that the Snowpiercer's ideology is absolute and nothing is to be exempted from adhering to it
- shows how rebellion is unacceptable because the lower class passengers "belong" in the tail
- Mason degrades the value of the lower class passengers by stating that they deserve to be treated badly
- Emphasizes the points which makes the speech easy to absorb by the lower class passengers
"Now, as in the beginning,
I belong to the front, you belong to the tail.
When the FOOT seeks the place of the HEAD, a sacred line is crossed.
Know your place! Keep your place!
Be a shoe!"
"I belong to the front, you belong to the tail."
- imagery, Mason highlights that they are different and is implying that they are of less importance
- distance herself from the lower-class people and thinks she is above them, expresses her negative opinions of them very boldly
- how she rationalizes all the injustices that occur in the train
"When the FOOT seeks the place of the HEAD.."
- metaphor, personification
- "foot", "head" > Mason continuously degrades the value of the lower class passengers
- allows audience to empathize with the people at the "tail"
"Know your place! Keep your place! Be a shoe!"
- implies that it is totally normal to be oppressed and to live in poverty since it is their “preordained position”.
- imperative sentence intensifies the atmosphere of the scene, making it more interesting and fascinating to watch
- A command: Mason is in full control and make decisions for the lower class
- Not something she would say to the people in the upper class > change of attitude when talking to certain social groups
- identify the divine boundary that separates the "front" and "tail" passengers
- viewers get the idea that crossing this line would be a sin > uses language to manipulate the lower class into staying low and obeying the orders
- "sacred" used repetitively > more tragic and dramatic
"(Mason dramatically finishes - he expects applause but does not get it. He checks the clock) - oops...Mmmm... We have some time left. Let us go to a special comment from Mr. Wilford, the Divine Keeper of the Sacred Engine...Sir? Mr. Wilford? (SPEAKER BZZZZZZZ....CRACKLE...BZZZ) He’s busy. So it is!"
Character Blocking
(Halperin, 2014)
CLOTHING
Stark contrast of saturation shows the difference in the lifestyle of the 2 social groups, symbolizing the division inside the train.
(The Playlist, 2014)
Snowpiercer. (2014). [film] Directed by J. Bong.
Close-Up > grabs attention, reveal facial expression (changing perspectives) and emphasizes their emotional state
Snowpiercer. (2014). [film] Directed by J. Bong.
Medium Shot > conveys more information about the setting and atmosphere (the "sacred line"), make viewers think about what lies behind the door, making the story more unpredictable
Close-up and Medium shots are used following the establishing shots
Snowpiercer. (2014). [film] Directed by J. Bong.
Bong,H. (2014). Quint gets on a train with director Bong Joon-ho and talks all things Snowpiercer!. [online] Aint It Cool News. Available at: http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/67810 [Accessed 30 Aug. 2019].
gradesaver.com, (n.d), Snowpiercer Character List, [online], https://www.gradesaver.com/snowpiercer/study-guide/character-list, [Accessed 3 Sep 2019]
Klein, Christina. "Why American Studies Needs to Think about Korean Cinema, Or, Transnational Genres in the Films of Bong Joon-ho." American Quarterly 60.4 (2008): 871-98.Project MUSE. Web.
Sharf, Z. (2019). Cannes Jury Says Awarding Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Parasite’ the Palme d’Or Was Unanimous Decision. [online] IndieWire. Available at: https://www.indiewire.com/2019/05/cannes-jury-parasite-palme-dor-unanimous-decision-1202144858/ [Accessed 30 Aug. 2019].
Snowpiercer. (2014). [film] Directed by J. Bong.
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Halperin, M. (2014). We Talked To Snowpiercer's Production Designer About Building A World Inside A Train. [online] Vice. Available at: https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/xy4wek/we-spoke-to-game-of-thrones-vfx-supervisor-about-his-new-movie-alien-outpost [Accessed 1 Sep. 2019].
Heroes Wiki (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://hero.fandom.com/wiki/Curtis_Everett [Accessed 3 Sep. 2019].
Independent Ethos (2014). [image] Available at: https://indieethos.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/tumblr_n7bzxq7pmc1tbeyfeo2_500.jpg [Accessed 1 Sep. 2019].
Meredith Corporation (2015). [image] Available at: https://ewedit.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/snowpiercer_612x380_1.jpg [Accessed 3 Sep. 2019].
Mysanantonio (2014). [image] Available at: https://s.hdnux.com/photos/30/77/37/6551530/8/1024x1024.jpg [Accessed 1 Sep. 2019].
The Essential (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://theessential.com.au/media/articles/219/snowpiercer-1.jpg [Accessed 1 Sep. 2019].
The Playlist (2014). [image] Available at: https://theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowpiercer-70267.jpg [Accessed 3 Sep. 2019].
Villains Wiki (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/5/5f/Jul01harris01_hitn.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170918192138 [Accessed 3 Sep. 2019].