Analysis - WASP (ANDREA ARNOLD 2003)

-WASP-

Film Form

   → Cinematography

Camera movement - hand held camera movement - disorientating for the audience - confused 

Starts if with close ups and mid-close ups so we can see their faces properly - facial expressions - emotions. Mid close ups and mid shots are used to show us the characters' faces as well as showing us parts of the background. 

   → Editing

Basic editing

   →Sound 

Diegetic sound - there aren't any sound effects used - all our attention is on what they are saying. 

   → Mise - en - scene 

We can see the type of area they live in - flats - council flats maybe? 

The baby is half naked - maybe the mum forgot to dress the baby properly - she has alot of things on her mind so she forgot? or maybe she doesn't care? - could also show that they left in a rush 

  → Performance 

At the start - the mum, Zoe is rushing - her facial expressions and body language suggest she is angry . She seems in a rush so maybe she has a lot to do - a lot of things on her mind - she's stressed 

Narrative structure, conflict and resolution

The narrative structure of this short film is linear despite the confusing start. It starts off by jumping into action but the rest of the events in the film are shown chronologically. 

The obvious conflict of the film is Zoe not having anyone to take care of her kids while she goes on a date with Dave. For Zoe the resolution to this is to just leave them outside the pub while her and Dave are inside however the audience do not see this as much of a resolution to her problem as we still worry for the kids who are alone outside. 

From Zoe's perspective one of her main conflicts is not having enough money to get her kids proper food so she buys them crisps instead, the resolution to this conflict is Dave buying the chips that the kids wanted at the end. 

Character development

This short story depicts the struggles that a single mother, Zoe, goes through when trying to parent her 4 young children. She does care for her children and love them a lot but she also wants to have a life of her own and therefore chooses to go on a date with ex-boyfriend Dave while her children wait outside the pub for her. By the end of the short story Zoe hears her daughter screaming therefore she leaves Dave in the car and run towards her children and soon realizes the danger that she left her kids in - a wasp flew into the baby's mouth. We then get a shot of her hugging her children and apologizing to them. This shows her character development - she realizes that although she wants to have some fun and live a little, she does need to prioritize her children and put them first.