Mis-en-Scene

Thinking about this assignment and going back through all of the movies I have seen, there is one scene in one movie that stands out for me.  Back in 1997, Titanic came out and was a huge success.  For me, one of the final scenes in the movie is one I will never forget because of how it made me feel. The scene is after the Titanic sank and the people who survived the sinking are now in the freezing cold water.  The two main characters, Jack and Rose, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, find a door floating and Jack makes sure that Rose stays on this door because he knows if she stays in the water she will freeze to death.

This scene shows hundreds of passengers scrambling to save their own lives, yelling for help from the life boats, and yet during this scene all of them end up freezing to death. This part of the scene where Jack and Rose are trying to hang on to life, their relationship and their future is the part that I have a really hard time forgetting. The fact that the director chose to only show them in this close up moment, the ice, the pale skin and blue lips, it all means something to the audience watching.

The director, writer, and producer of this movie was James Cameron. The director's job is to make sure that all of the parts of the movie come together.  They make the final decision on what they want each scene to look like. James Cameron has had a successful career since he directed The Terminator back in the 1980's. He likes to tell a story that means something to the audience.  He uses a lot of panning out so that the audience sees the whole picture and makes us feel like we are a part of the movie.  He loves to use slow motion to dramatize a scene.  Many of his films have themes of humanity and our arrogance. Titanic shows how no amount of manpower can overcome nature.

One Gestalt principle that I think is in this scene is the Law of Pragnanz where everything is reduced to a simple form.  The only thing that matters is the relationship in this moment and so whatever could happen in the background is not important.

This scene visually communicates with the audience because all of us can imagine being in freezing cold water and trying to save someone we love. The frost in their hair, the fact that we could see their breathe... all of those things made the feelings of grief so powerful.  I do not know if I have ever been so sad during another scene of another movie because of all of the visual effects that were in place in this scene.

Directed, Written, and Produced by: James Cameron
Production Design by: Peter Lamont
Art Direction by: Martin Laing
Set Decoration by: Michael Ford
Costume Design by: Deborah Lynn Scott