Bitter Sweet: Jennifer's Body Deconstruction #1

Needy's Introduction Scene

The first section of the scene doesn't show Needy’s face but rather shots showing the back of her head and parts of her body. Although these shot’s do not immediately give her an identity, they do build up a persona for her through mise en scene and sound. Not showing her face creates enigma, conventional for a horror which appeals to the target audience who want mystery and intrigue.

There is an aerial establishing shot showing the gymnasium, which sets the scene and shows Needy’s grim/grey world full of unstable girls in orange uniforms.

An extremely short over-the-shoulder shot gives the audience the illusion of being in the orderly’s position as Needy attacks her. This causes a shock which appeals to the target audience who want to be scared or feel threatened.

Close-ups are intrusive and show the emotion and feelings of the characters. They also captivate the audience in the action (which is appealing), for example as the nurse spits out blood and the most inspirational shot of the scene of Needy staring right into the camera (see image).

Another inspirational example is an overhead shot of the isolation cell that could be linked relatively to CCTV. It’s an interesting angle to show all the action from while emphasising the size and height of the cell as well as her isolation and detachment form society.

This links well with the use of high and low angles to emphasis her vulnerability and entrapment.

Objective character identification is given through a female non-diegetic narration on the soundtrack. This is Needy introducing herself in the present time before she lends to a flashback in the next scene (and for the rest of the film). Her tone of voice is not melancholy or depressed as perhaps expected but more matter-of-fact with comedic elements showing how messed up she is. The narration also doesn't give everything away to the rest of the story, creating enigma and appealing to the target audience.

The tone of Needy’s voice is reflected in the non-diegetic soundtrack of an echoey synth/piano which is slightly melancholy but not dramatic or depressing. In recreation time, the music is now a catchy guitar riff with a sense of comedy and mischief. In the canteen, a piano melody does become gloomier. These different motifs could represent the different sides to Needy’s personality giving the audience more of a clue to her character. This is an inspirational example as it gives clues about the character but not in an obvious way which appeals to the target audience. The sense of enigma and mystery is also a convention of teaser trailers therefore it would be relevant to use this technique in our coursework.

The next part of the scene where Needy kicks the nurse, there isn't any music to emphasise the violence and its sound effects: the kick, punches, smashes and cheering. This would appeal to the target audience through the use of violence and gore.

When the nurse confronts Needy about her eating habits, her reply is empty and expressionless. This is quite a contrast to her voiceover and therefore the audience could guess that she has a bad relationship with orderlies or she’s just ‘playing up for them’ b misbehaving and attacking. After kicking her, Needy aggressively shouts ‘I recommend you shut the fuck up!’ and then spits which is very shocking especially after how dead she seemed not so long ago in this scene and how calm her voiceover was. Her psychotic personality is further supported by her angry screams and gasps when she’s put in isolation. This quick change of mood/personality is something that we could use in our coursework for our main antagonist.

She knows how psychotic she is however as she explains how she ‘ wasn't always this cracked’ and ‘after the killings I began to feel, I don’t know, loose around the edges or something’. This is a possibility for our coursework, however we must first decide whether we think our antagonist should know what she’s doing wrong.

Diegetic muzak/elevator music plays in her cell to which she very negatively responds ‘God! I hate this fucking song!’ Later on the film, it becomes clear why as the band who play this song ruin her life. The fact that it is elevator music is interesting though as it is used to calm patients down and creates the right atmosphere for the scene whilst giving a comedic effect.

The first section of the scene is shown in Needy’s room. She is facing a barred window in a hospital gown surrounded by presents she explains are from ‘her fans’ including teddy bears but also religious symbols such as crucifixes as they want her to ‘accept Jesus Christ into my heart’. The teddy bears, her bunny slippers and her long, flowing blonde hair give her an innocence that poses a lot of questions, the main one being why is she in a mental institution?

A close-up of a boy’s picture on her windowsill is focused on as she says ‘nobody ever comes back’ suggesting he is no longer with her. She also says ‘nobody ever gets off the cross’ which suggests he was killed for no wrong-doing as Jesus was. This appeals to the audience as it creates enigma.

Extreme close-ups of her file show doctor’s notes on her condition. These include ‘hallucinations’, ‘uncontrollable fits’ and ‘put several orderlies in hospital’ and ‘KICKER’. This gives the audience more clues about her condition which increases tension as this makes her more of a threat.

The nurse holds a clipboard and wears a badge with an apple on. This could be seen as condescending to Needy which might be why she attacks the nurse especially as the nurse is telling her what to eat.

The extreme close-up of the nurse’s tooth in a pool of blood is gory and gruesome, which appeals to the target audience. This and the fact blood is a convention of horror films is why it’s a particularly inspirational shot.

The overhead shot of the cell show that there is an cross or ‘X’ on the floor which is an ominous symbol. It’s also associated with ‘cross out, Needy/Jennifer’ which is a recurring line in the film.

I think the reason the shot of Needy staring at the camera bathed in moonlight works so well is firstly because of the lighting. It is also down to the bags under her eyes, pale complexion, flushed cheeks and glassy stare. This is a memorable and inspirational example we could replicate in our coursework.

The first shot zooms out from the window and tilts down from Needy to the presents on her floor. This camera movement is inspirational as it makes a long, interesting shot which originally could have been a few short shots that are unoriginal. The fact that the camera swoops down over a long period of time gives equilibrium to the scene.

Several shots after this and in the gymnasium are slow-motion which also contributes to the slow editing pace which gives a sense of calm. As well as these are fades and slow pans and zooms. These also give the illusion of a dreamy state which could be representative of Needy’s state of mind.

This contrasts greatly to the quick-paced editing of when Needy attacks orderlies. As said before this shows various sides to Needy’s personality. The fact that the quick cuts come unexpected provides a shock for the audience which appeals to the target audience and is a convention to the horror genre.

A memorable section of the scene is 2 of the shots in the cell. Firstly the time-lapse effect of the window to give the illusion of a lot of time going past. And secondly how the shot of Needy in the moonlight staring at the camera is cut to as she says ‘loose around the edges’. This cut is parallel to the sound which makes it so effective.