Jackie Brown analysis

Directed by Quentin Tarentino in 1997 Jackie Brown stirred up controversy filled with particular stereotypes that the main character Jackie Brown changes.When watching this film you notice how it portrays racial stereotypes and how various institutions treat people according to their race. Represented in this film is how the social value of women are directly related to their race. This opening scene begins with a tracking shot of Jackie Brown gliding along the people mover in the airport she works as a airline hostess at. The soundtrack is called Across 110th Street and after researching this song I saw that the lyrics reference to life on the streets, for example pimps and drug pushers, this could signify what may happen in this film. Just by watching this first seen you immediately notice her independence compared to a lot of women in that particular time, she strides along with her head held high walking noticeably faster than the general public around her which could mean she is ahead of everyone else in society. Also it shows that she is different compared to most women and challenges the stereotypes.The shot shown above is a low angle tracking shot of Jackie Brown walking to walk, as it is low angle it makes her seem powerful in the shot and higher than the general public. Also from this angle you see that the people around her are slightly blurred but she isnt and is standing confidently showing her significance. 

Here is the clip of the shooting of Beaumont Livingston featured in Jackie Brown. It begins with an establishing shot of both the characters having a conversation where they then enter the car. Ordell is a very smooth character who is a lethal arms dealer who goes to see a deviant associate, Beaumont. During their conversation you notice the type of language they use, they fit into their racial stereotype that people would put them in.  One minute Ordell is sweet talking his manic friend into climbing into his car trunk the next he casually shoots him when they arrive at a desolate location. This scene is a long shot showing Ordell getting out of the car which enables the audience to see the whole location.Also it is very dark giving the situation an enigmatic feel as the audience don't completely know what's happening but their suspence will be built up due to the ambiguity of the situation. Outrageous comedy is combined with startling violence making everything more frightful and suspence building. This could also symbolise Ordells psychopathic personality as he is having a friendly conversation with Beaumont which suddenly turns into a quick shocking murder.

Also shown in many of Tarentino's films, the trunk and hood point of view shot where the camera is where the boot is and shows the point of view of the boot. This gives the idea that there may be something significant in the boot whether it's an object or a person. This shot is also shown in the thriller Reservoir Dogs where the character Blondie is showing his accomplices the cop that he kidnapped, therefore this shot makes the audience feel vulnerable.

This is a medium close up shot of Ordell putting black leather gloves on which could signify that he is about to commit a grim crime. You can also slightly notice the jewellery he's wearing in this scene showing a flashy gold bracelet and a big gold ring. These both look like quite fake gold which could symbolise the fakeness to his personality, what seems to be him asking Beaumont a favour turns into a deviant way to murder him where no-one will be around.

Here is a slight low angle long shot of the car driving 
away into the distance the car ressembles the vanishing point in this shot so this leaves the audience wondering where he's going to go, its ambigious. Also you only see the lights on the car that Ordell is driving signifiying the importance of this car compared to the others as you can hardly see them and all your attention goes to his car vanishing into the distance, Furthermore,although his is further away you can still notice more than the others, showing it's significance to what will happen next.

Jackie Brown-Mall scene- This is where the male character Louis shoots the other female character Melanie. The location of this murder adds to the tension and fear of it as it is set in an ordinary car park in day light where anyone could come at any time. Also unlike some generic thriller locations it isn't a poorly lit claustrophobic space meaning the fact he just shot her was unexpected and therefore added tension to that scene.