How are binary oppositions established at the beginning of a teen movie?
Binary oppositions are established at the beginning of La Haine through things like Mise-en-scene, sound, editing and camera. In the opening scene, we see a shot of one of the main characters, 'Said', standing alone with his eyes closed. The camera tracks into his face and when the camera stops tracking, Said opens his eyes. The shot then changes to the camera tracking into the back of his head and then tilting up which reveals the police officers all lined up standing comfortably and intimidating with couple of the officers holding police dogs. There is a binary opposition in this sequence and conflict is also exposed. The police/government, stand in a bigger and better position than the locals. Said's closed eyes may be suggesting pain and when he opens his eyes, he spots the cause of his pain.
The silence in this scene with the start of a gunshot also brings forward a message. The gunshot leads to Said with his eyes closed which may be inferring death. It shows us that the police have the power to kill people, whereas the locals don't.
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