TASK 2 Research Into Existing Media Texts - Short Film

Andrea Arnold is a British director that won an Oscar in 2005 for her short film 'Wasp'.

By analysing the film, we were able to gain a basic insight into Andrea Arnold's filming style that can be seen consistently in most of the work that she has produced, focusing predominantly upon conveying social realism through the camera work.

In the short film 'Wasp' the camera never remains still. It is always slightly moving or shaking, therefore creating a sense of realism for the audience and producing a documentary style in which the audience are gaining an exclusive insight into the life of a British single mother raising her children in poverty. This captures the attention of the audience by allowing us to become the fourth wall and peer into the lives and hardships of others. The short film is set in a stereotypically run down area with lots of flats and lower class houses, therefore immediately informing the audience that the film will feature working class and lower class people. 

Andrea Arnold uses metaphors and symbolic imagery in her film to convey subtle messages to her audience and therefore make her work more creative and interesting to watch. For example, throughout 'Wasp' there is always a semantic field of danger surrounding the children which is conveyed through stereotypically dangerous icons. When the children are alone in the car park, the camera is dark and the darkness is an iconic symbol of danger, especially for children who are commonly afraid of it. In addition to this, a Bull Terrier walks around in the background of the car park, near to where the children are. This particular breed of dog has been stereotyped for being a dangerous animal and could therefore be a threat to the children. We can also hear the digetic sound of the nearby traffic when the children are running around playing, this along with the other dangerous icons is to highlight the vulnerability of the children due to them being left open to the dangers of the world without a responsible adult to care for them.

The Wasp itself can also be considered symbolic. We discussed this as a class and decided that the lead character Zoe is very much like a wasp. Wasps do not really have a purpose and do not contribute to the good of the Earth and therefore people question their worth. They hurt people with little thought for the consequences and this personality trait is evident within Zoe in association to her children. Andrea Arnold is known within the industry for using a high frequency of metaphorical imagery within her work.