an analasys of the intro to jarhead

Black hawk down intro.

The introduction of black hawk down is another film that perpetuates the classic style of an introduction in this genre. It starts in a much more simplistic style than saving Private Ryan but it is just as effective in telling the viewer the plot. Furthermore it is far easier for the viewer to recognise, without having thought too much the plot. The introduction is literally telling the back-story of all the characters without a spoken word. It simply tells the viewer of the events prior to the film and the fact that it is a true story. However they introduce some suspense at the end and a little bit of a problem ‘’it was supposed to take 3 weeks the Whitehouse got anxious when it had been 6’’ this connotes trouble straight away as people associate being late with trouble instantly. Furthermore it makes the viewer assume the trouble will be large because the white house is involved in it. The film in the background of the writing instead of having action or soldiers it shows quite daunting images of famine and starvation. These are images that are not meant to please the viewer and unlike jarhead give an impression of a dark tone to the film whereas the white glinting halls in jarhead portray a happy mood. This connotes that the film will not be something to laugh at and is a classic Hollywood technique for serious films. It is although they are trying to instantly shock the viewer to set up the mood of the rest of the film. The music is a non diagetic soundtrack of native Somalia tribal song. It is played softly and goes well with the images of death and pain at the beginning. However the only character setup in the intro is that of the villain it portrays him as a cowardly and evil man who is homicidal and a tyrant. These all make the viewer certain who the ‘good guys’ will be killing. I do not personally like this technique and believe that it wouldn’t go well with what I had planned. Although I think that the words and the painful imagery belong in my intro perfectly. I will be using a completely different situation and one that introduces the ‘good guys’ first and has the viewer relate to them much more than the villain.