Friday 3 October 2014

The art of the Title 1

I analysed the opening to Boardwalk Empire, an HBO crime drama starring Steve Busemi and produced by Martin Scorsese. Boardwalk Empire uses its intro to show the main character of Nucky Thompson as somewhat of a leader and powerful man during a time of extreme amounts of crime. It shows him looking out to sea almost to show that he "owns the place". The beach is shown as abandoned to demonstrate his power that no one will come near him as as result of his presence. The image of crashing waves and smashing bottles do represent that his power may not last for long. Like any criminal, his kingdom and power will not last forever and everything will come crashing down on top of him. The bottles also represent the 1920s prohibition period and establishes to its audience of the period from the very first episode.
The titles also come out in different ways. The word "empire" is bigger of the two words in the title as it almost demonstrates the power of Nucky's empire. It's also presented as flashy and big much like the period of the 1920s itself. Some of the actors names also come out in interesting ways e.g. Steve Busecmi's name is presented when the tide comes in.



















2 comments:

  1. The opening sequence of 'Boardwalk Empire' is a powerful metaphor for Nucky and for the times he lives in. For Karin Fong, "Nucky’s the kind of character who, no matter what is thrown at him, is untouched by the storm. That’s why he’s not soaked at the end: he’s above it all — his shoes don’t get soiled." The sea and its tumult represents Atlantic City during prohibition with its crime waves: Buscemi's charismatic character is the one constant in what is essentially a storm of change.
    You respond to how Nucky's power is constructed.
    You make some perceptive comments about 'True Detectives'. Double exposures funstion as "Fragmented portraits, created by using human figures as windows into partial landscapes, served as a great way to show characters that are marginalised or internally divided."
    Clear analysis of the key codes in 'Dexter' incl.extreme CUs and the theme of blood/violence.

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  2. I have split the Art of the Title into 3 and included a bit more detail in my answer

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