Plenary
There Will Be Blood
The title of the film There Will Be Blood is written in what seems to be a biblical font – this gives us the first insight into the historical context of when the film is set.
In the analysis of the scene shown in class; we perceive a very harsh contrast of the open space in the first half of the scene, against the closed and confined space in the second half. The music is extremely discordant and gradually gets louder – this induces a sense of anxiety over the audience.
The lighting in the open space is very harsh, which accompanies the discordant music; the audience experiences a very ‘artificial’ environment due to the lighting. This lighting is juxtaposed against the lighting in the second half of the scene. The lighting in the second half of the scene has a blue hue and has a cool feel to it.
The film deals with the topic of religion quite frequently. Many symbols and motifs within the film relate back to the religious connotations that permeate the film. One of the symbols includes the positioning of ‘Oil’ within the film. E.g. When the son gets ‘baptised’ with the oil. Oil also represents prosperity and wealth within the film. Oil is also contrasted against blood in this film – where blood ties between family are extremely strong, but blood is thicker than oil.