'Elephant (2003)\r'

'On Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at columbine High School almost Denver, Colorado, two senior students embarked on a massacre, killing twelve students, one t individu everyyer, and injuring all over twenty more than students. The two trouble students then committed suicide. It is the fourth deadliest enlighten massacre in United States history. The diction â€Å"elephant in the room” is white plagued as a metaphor to describe an lucid truth that goes un sumressed, or simply ignored. Everyone knows it is in that location, scarce no one will enounce what needs to be said, or eff the problem that is in front of them.Gus saucily wave Sant’s, Elephant, is a cinematic response to the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. vanguard Sant’s open-ended treatment of the Columbine pillow slip is one example of how his creative dodging is able to condense the social complexness behind the incident, and stimulate curiosity from the audition. This bearing of en gage steps far one-time(prenominal) the traditional boundaries to the point, demonstrating that this is only scratching the surface, suggesting that there is much more depth than what is give tongue ton in plain view.Elephant ref intakes to adjust to conventional views of fetch and effect, and instead weaves an ineluctable spell on its auditory sense with its typical long takes, diegetic and non-diegetic audio frequencys, and an interweaving, hardheaded narrative structure, all contri b arlying to its rum visual harmony and an everlasting stimulated affect on those who witnesser it. cardinal creative strategy that caravan Sant employs passim the movie’s entirety is its distinctive, but unique long takes. This unconventional focussing of get hold ofing helps determine the atmosphere of the bring as a whole. new wave Sant takes the audience on a trance c are journey as the camera follows each character somewhat the school. The action is moved along by the con tinual course of the camera tracking behind contrasting students as they fly the school halls, cafeteria, library, and football field. During these long takes, the audience is given the side of a achievementless witness to the action as it unfolds unavoidably. As a result, it becomes a slow-moving film with a snowballing and powerful impact. As Van Sant puts it, â€Å"No cutting is better than cutting.A assumed story isnt as good as something thats more organic”(Van Sant). These long scenes are repeated, but through the eyes of different characters each revealing a new perspective of the scene, which increases the sympathy for these students who have no idea what is coming, but was already revealed to the audience. With these distinctive and substantiveistic long takes, the scenes become hold in the audiences memory due to what seems like a first hand invite of the traumatic event.Another key component to this movies inescapable spell that it levels on its viewers is the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. Throughout the movie there is eternally a constant sound, whether it is the echoes of voices in the hallways and foot locker room, or the sound of Beethoven acting beneath the diegetic sounds. The use of these diegetic sounds help bring on a more realistic perspective for the audiences. As they follow behind each character closely, Van Sant put one acrosss sure to add every little detail he brush off to ensure that the audience gets as raw and as authentic of a view as possible.For example, the group of infantile girls in the cafeteria or in the locker room, there are no sound affects added, what you see is what you hear, creating a naturalistic atmosphere. As another way to increase the tension, Van Sant strategically places the non-diegetic sound of a quietly playing stainless music to bring forth an ominous mood in the selected scenes. in that respect are only a few scenes at which the piano is played, and it easily goes unnoticed. The sounds of classical music playing beneath the diegetic sounds places the audiences in a dreamlike state, as all they can do is sit covert and watch as the story unfolds.The interweaving and realistic narrative structure of this film helps show the duple points of views of this tragedy, giving the audience the magnate to become â€Å"the ideal imaginary beholder” and feel as close to the real thing as possible. After reviewing the film, Manohla Dargis of the LA Times states, â€Å"Every so often, Van Sant repeats a scene from another perspective, as if he were winding back time, and decelerates the busy to put the film into slow motion so we can pay witness to this heartbreaking animation, to the aliveness of these children.I think this is why Van Sant made â€Å"Elephant” †he wants to value the lives of the Columbine dead, to remember all the kids in their radiant, burning life. ”(Dargis). The same scenes are replayed multiple times fr om different perspectives to show the magnitude of the situation, and just how powerful what is taking place really is. Instead of casting tough name actors, Van Sant casts regular soaring school teenagers, who improvise their dialogue to produce it seem as realistic as he could.By keeping this narrative structure away from the glamour and artificiality of classic Hollywood films, Van Sant allows the story to unfold naturally and is able to preserve the films true meaning, which is to focus on the traumatic event that is redress in plain view, but besides no one wants to address. Throughout the film, the audience is given an in depth run across at what took place that tragic day. As far as authenticity, this film is as realistic of an interpretation as there can be without dipping into the glamour of Hollywood, and torment for the sake of a better script.This film is as real as it gets, and it is because of the creative, non-traditional tendency that Van Sant employs throu ghout it. There are several different elements that go into creating this film, such as an interweaving narrative structure, or the use of creative and unique shots that help make it extremely impactful. Some elements can be seen with the naked eye; others require a little bit more intellect. heedless of whether or not the audience can see why this film is more creative and spell bounding than the next, they at least(prenominal) know something is there like the elephant in the room.\r\n'