American Beauty – MEDIA

Compare how editing techniques contribute to how audiences may read and understand the narratives in both of the texts you studies this year. – 7 marks –

In American Beauty editing techniques employed in the opening development and resolution contribute to audiences understanding of the genre of mystery drama, whereas in The Gift editing is used to establish the genre of psychological thriller and reveal relationships between characters.

The opening scene of American Beauty ends with a cut to black conveying a sense of disruption to Burch’s dialogue and the audience is positioned to feel as though there was more to the conversation then what you saw, introducing the element of mystery. A fade is also indicated to symbolise a lapse in time. Dramatic tension is created throughout the flm through slow edits allowing more action to be captured and tension to be built.

In The Gift however, slow edits are incorporated to position the audience to feel uneasy as they want the scene to move faster. Long black fades are also incorporated between intense scenes which causes the audience to be unsure of the characters next decision, supporting the psychological thriller genre.

In the resolution of American Beauty a dissolve follows Lester being shot in the head as flash backs occur of Lester’s life, when times were happier, suggesting that he was once living the American dream. In the final scenes of The Gift parallel editing is employed to build suspense and highlight the tension between the characters. Through parallel edits the audience is able to view the events taking place of Gordo visiting the hospital and Simon viewing the video, simultaneously. This raises the tension as it causes the audience to become suspicious of Edgerton’s visiting Hall due to the ambiguous content on the video that Bateman is watching.

Editing techniques such as cuts, slow edits, dissolves and flash backs are employed through out American Beauty to contribute to the audiences understanding of the genre of mystery/drama and the understanding of time, comparatively in The Gift techniques such as fades, parallel editing and fast cuts reinforce the genre of psychological thriller.