In the film "Samson and Delilah" directed by Warwick Thornton, Thornton uses the techniques of Props, Cinematography, and lighting to encourage the viewer to form a negative of Samson.
The first technique that Thornton uses to encourage the audience to form a negative view of Samson is props. He uses props throughout the film, and the prop that he assosiates Samson with is a petrol can or bottle. From the very first scene we see Samson with the petrol can. We see him sniff petrol out of it after he has woken up in the morning. Before he has sniffed the petrol he is obiously very tired and slow in his movements and facial expression. However after he has sniffed some petrol, and is high he is alot more awake and lively. This scene suggests that he is quite addicted to petrol, and that sniffing it is part of his daily routine. Our suspicions are confirmed as the film progresses, because most of the time that Samson is on camera he is clutching a can or bottle of petrol. It is not only the fact that Samson is addicted to petrol that we don't like him, but his actions while he is high on petrol. Throughout the movie Samson has oppourtunity after oppourtunity to make his life better for himself, but more importantly Delilah, the girl he is supposed to love. Throughout the movie Samson watches while she is beaten and raped, and does nothing to help her. His perol bottle seems to be the only thing that connects him with the real world. To the point that when Delilah comes back for Samson he sneaks away and sniffs the petrol from their own car. At this point in the film we almost want Samson to be left alone in the outback to sniff petrol until he dies. However for some reason Delilah takes him back again and helps him to fight his addiction. With the petrol can gone Samson's life takes a positive turn, but the audience still has a negative view towards Samson and believes he doesn't deserve a second chance.
The second technique that Thornton uses to encourage the viewer to form a negative view of Samson is Cinematography. In particular camera work. He uses two shtos a long shot and a mid shot. The first shot is of Samson looking down at his village. The second shot, which is more significant is of Samson turning his back on his village. This shows that he is literally leaving his culture. Samson is trying to make us feel sorry for him because "he has to leave his culture", but in reality it is completely Samson's fault and choice that he is leaving his culture. It is only after Samson has gone on a petrol fuelled rage, and beaten his brother that he decides to leave. Leaving at this stage in the film, and at this stage of his petrol addiction is the worst decision he could have made. If he was to face up to what he had done, and taken responsibility for his actions the reporcussions would have been alot less. Instead he runs away from his responsibility and spirals into petrol addiction and petty crime. This would not have upset the audience too much because it is Samson's choice to live how he wants. But the thing that gives the audience such a negative view of Samson is the fact that he has forced Delilah along with him, and she ends up suffering worse conciquences than Samson.
The final, and probebly most effective technique that Thornton uses to encourage the viewer to form a negative view of Samson is lighting. Throughout the film alot of the time that we see Samson sniffing petrol he is in the dark. The dark lighting paired with the fact that he is sniffing petrol creates a sad and depressing mood for the audience. Thornton often combines the dark lighting and petrol sniffing with a bad moment in the film. A good example of this is the scene after Delilah has been raped and beaten. Delilah comes back, beaten and bloodied, only to find Samson sitting in the dark sniffing his bottle of petrol. This makes the audience extremely angry with Samson, and we feel like shouting at him for being such an idiot. It is at times like these that we feel very negative towards Samson, and the dark and gloomy lighting only enhances the mood of anger frustration and sadness.
In conclusion Thornton uses the techniques of props, cinematography, and lighting to encourage the viewer to form a negative view of Samson. Thornton uses props to show us the seriousness of Samson's addiction and how much more value he places in a can or bottle of petrol, more than Delilah, the girl he is supposed to love. Thornton uses cinematography to show us the consiquences of Samson's stupid actions, not only for himself but also for Delilah. Finally he uses lighting to highlight the angry and depressing mood that we feel towards Samson, when he does nothing while the girl he loves suffers immensely.
The first technique that Thornton uses to encourage the audience to form a negative view of Samson is props. He uses props throughout the film, and the prop that he assosiates Samson with is a petrol can or bottle. From the very first scene we see Samson with the petrol can. We see him sniff petrol out of it after he has woken up in the morning. Before he has sniffed the petrol he is obiously very tired and slow in his movements and facial expression. However after he has sniffed some petrol, and is high he is alot more awake and lively. This scene suggests that he is quite addicted to petrol, and that sniffing it is part of his daily routine. Our suspicions are confirmed as the film progresses, because most of the time that Samson is on camera he is clutching a can or bottle of petrol. It is not only the fact that Samson is addicted to petrol that we don't like him, but his actions while he is high on petrol. Throughout the movie Samson has oppourtunity after oppourtunity to make his life better for himself, but more importantly Delilah, the girl he is supposed to love. Throughout the movie Samson watches while she is beaten and raped, and does nothing to help her. His perol bottle seems to be the only thing that connects him with the real world. To the point that when Delilah comes back for Samson he sneaks away and sniffs the petrol from their own car. At this point in the film we almost want Samson to be left alone in the outback to sniff petrol until he dies. However for some reason Delilah takes him back again and helps him to fight his addiction. With the petrol can gone Samson's life takes a positive turn, but the audience still has a negative view towards Samson and believes he doesn't deserve a second chance.
The second technique that Thornton uses to encourage the viewer to form a negative view of Samson is Cinematography. In particular camera work. He uses two shtos a long shot and a mid shot. The first shot is of Samson looking down at his village. The second shot, which is more significant is of Samson turning his back on his village. This shows that he is literally leaving his culture. Samson is trying to make us feel sorry for him because "he has to leave his culture", but in reality it is completely Samson's fault and choice that he is leaving his culture. It is only after Samson has gone on a petrol fuelled rage, and beaten his brother that he decides to leave. Leaving at this stage in the film, and at this stage of his petrol addiction is the worst decision he could have made. If he was to face up to what he had done, and taken responsibility for his actions the reporcussions would have been alot less. Instead he runs away from his responsibility and spirals into petrol addiction and petty crime. This would not have upset the audience too much because it is Samson's choice to live how he wants. But the thing that gives the audience such a negative view of Samson is the fact that he has forced Delilah along with him, and she ends up suffering worse conciquences than Samson.
The final, and probebly most effective technique that Thornton uses to encourage the viewer to form a negative view of Samson is lighting. Throughout the film alot of the time that we see Samson sniffing petrol he is in the dark. The dark lighting paired with the fact that he is sniffing petrol creates a sad and depressing mood for the audience. Thornton often combines the dark lighting and petrol sniffing with a bad moment in the film. A good example of this is the scene after Delilah has been raped and beaten. Delilah comes back, beaten and bloodied, only to find Samson sitting in the dark sniffing his bottle of petrol. This makes the audience extremely angry with Samson, and we feel like shouting at him for being such an idiot. It is at times like these that we feel very negative towards Samson, and the dark and gloomy lighting only enhances the mood of anger frustration and sadness.
In conclusion Thornton uses the techniques of props, cinematography, and lighting to encourage the viewer to form a negative view of Samson. Thornton uses props to show us the seriousness of Samson's addiction and how much more value he places in a can or bottle of petrol, more than Delilah, the girl he is supposed to love. Thornton uses cinematography to show us the consiquences of Samson's stupid actions, not only for himself but also for Delilah. Finally he uses lighting to highlight the angry and depressing mood that we feel towards Samson, when he does nothing while the girl he loves suffers immensely.
