Tango de Roxanne” scene – which is in fact three scenes intercut – contributes to the overall success of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge in several ways. Specific techniques, including lighting and music, are vital contributors to the effect of this scene. The long shadows and the cold, blue light in the tower are captured by a PAN across the room prior to Satire’s dramatic entrance a la Marlene Dietrich. An ECU of her face shows the minute diamond shapes of which her veil is made, suggesting both her entrapment in the Moulin Rouge and the diamonds she is being offered.
The light falls in diamond shapes which can also be seen in the window panes and the back of Satire’s chair. A motif throughout the entire film, diamonds symbolise Satine’s public persona as a courtesan and arc therefore associated with the Duke, as is the use of blue light. Both diamonds and blue light are used in the “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” scene where Satire makes her first appearance and establishes her public persona as a courtesan. This relates to the theme of the commerciality of women, of women selling themselves to make a living, linking the use of lighting to the overall success of the film.
In these scenes, there is a strong use of chiaroscuro, as well as a contrast between the blue lighting in the tower and the red light used in the dance to suggest sex, prostitution and jealousy. Cross-cuts to the tower emphasise the tower lighting; this redness links with the tower when the camera cuts back to Satine beside the fire. Other links between the tower and the tango include the use of black and white. The shadows of the tower relate to the black costumes of the dancers, as do the lights on the white skin of Satire and the Duke.
The Essay on Blue Light Bunz Sincere Lighting
The motion picture Belly explores the ghetto and the characters that live in this dark and obscure world of violence and criminal behavior. Tommy or "Bunz", and Sincere, who both live in New York, have differing views of criminal life. Bunz lives a mixed up, drug-run lifestyle, while Sincere aspires to be a law-abiding family man. To help the audience get the full effect of evilness portrayed by ...
These links emphasise the relationship between the dance and the events in the tower which follow the progression of the tango. At the beginning, a woman’s sexuality is shown to enslave a man, as when the Duke agrees to let Satire have her “fairytale ending. ” However, it is also made explicit that ultimately the woman is powerless; the Duke is physically violent towards Satire and attempts to rape her. This is relevant to the theme of the treatment of women, and demonstrates the Duke’s possessiveness of Satire as well as his jealousy. She is a commodity to him.
Both the Duke and Christian want Satire exclusively and are linked by their desire for her; the Tango also symbolically represents the passions of the three main characters. The Duke’s passion and jealousy are represented in the Tango by the Argentinean, whose voice is a gravely baritone, common to that of the villain in the opera. Christian, on the other hand is a tenor, the voice of the hero in opera. The songs of the Argentinean (“Roxanne”) and Christian, who sings of what he imagines is happening between the Duke and Satire, shift against each other constantly.
The music in this scene is an amalgamation of pop, Latin American and opera. Beginning with a simple, plain piano chord and featuring a tremolo in the violin to initiate gypsy sounds, the Tango music explicitly links the two scenes (dance and tower) and the two stories. In the tower, a single violin plays to the tune of the Duke’s voice and suggests the devil. However, to reflect her moment of power, the violin picks up Satire’s tune as she says “No! ” after singing Christian’s song to him with a key change to symbolise their distance.
The power reverts to the Duke when he attacks her, and the tune of the violin changes again. Near the end of the scene, during the attempted rape, although all songs are present, the violin soars over the top of everything, because the devil is in control and Satire is powerless in the face of violence. Again, the theme of the treatment of women is touched upon, and the cruel, violent and possessive nature of the Duke revealed. Luhrmann’s use of lighting and music throughout the “Tango de Roxanne” scene depicts the passion and emotions brilliantly, making the scene intense and dramatic.
The Essay on Huckleberry Finn Satire
Through Huck’s eyes, a reader is able to comprehend the hypocrisy of those surrounding Huck during this time in not only his life, but this time in history as well. Emphasizing religion, “mob mentality,” and romantic literature, Twain satirizes these three traits throughout the entirety of the novel to show what perpetrated Huck to “escape” from civilization. From the very beginning of the novel, ...
Its approach and techniques encapsulate and reflect the basic complex and dramatically vibrant approach throughout. The scene provides the dramatic climax to the second act, and spins the film into darker waters, with the implicit threat of violence associated with the Duke becoming overt. Satine is attacked, and the Duke shows his displeasure by threatening Christian’s life. The visually and emotionally stunning scene shows how Moulin Rouge was able to revitalise the moribund film musical.
