True Blood is an American Television series from 2008 about a woman with mind reading powers living in a town filled with vampires. The opening sequence is constructed of a montage revolving around themes of religion, blood and sex.
(True Blood)
Think about the format of the images…
How are they constructed?
This is a montage - Lots of fast edits and longer slow motion shots.
What shots types are used?
A lot of close-up (in your face) type shots.
What filters/effects are used?
It feels like there are mostly colour filters. There are a lot of quick paced effects that are mostly used during the cuts between shots.
Are there any key colors used?
There is a lot of red used, its most likely used to represent blood and death. In a couple of images there is involvement of black and white, suggesting the passing of time.
Now start to see if there’s other tools from our theory that might be useful to use…
Can you identify any ‘Binary opposites’?
There are very clear binary opposites between purity and dirtiness. This is seen with the included shots of the baptist church, which represents peace and purity which contrast to the shots inclusive of sex and nudity which is impure to the contrast of the religious purity. In addition to see the colours are complete opposites as one is black and the other is white.
What do you believe is the ‘reality that is being represented’?
This is a very subjective question so I will just write about what comes to mind when I think about the reality of what I am seeing in the montage. I think that there is a clash in the society shown, what I mean by this is that there is a divide in the people and their views and beliefs. Whether it be religion or class, there is a divide shown and that affects the life of these people in one way or another.
What do you think is the preferred reading of the representation shown?
I think that there is a reading of religion being the pure and correct way to live, a "believe and you will go to heaven" sort of thing. However, this sequence leads me to believe that there is a message saying that sex before marriage wrong, whether or not it is wrong to and individual and their own beliefs, I feel like there is a strong encouragement within the montage that communicates this.
What is the genre of the show (and tone/mood)?
Thriller - There is a dark tone which contrasts a slightly upbeat mood.
What are the themes of the show?
Themes of violence/religion/discrimination/dirtiness
What is the representation of the setting?
Rural - Deep south USA. Feels very old fashioned and uninviting.
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