We are introduced to our protagonist with him raising someone else’s flag. The flag of Apartheid racial regime. Here the setting and struggle of the character are readily established in two simple shots. This black boy is oppressed, doing work for a white man of higher stature. This is communicated before the audience is even given a look at his immediate surroundings, work, or his boss. The next few shots establish our protagonist’s attitude towards his situation. He pauses his work on the flag and looks towards the house (the camera following this shift in focus), which appears mundane on the surface, with trepidation. Shakily, focusing the shot on his hands for emphasis, the audience sees his anxiety over committing a small act of rebellion in stealing a small piece of the flag’s rope. In the following plot beat, just before the title appears, we see the protagonist smile for the first time as he gives the rope, now in the form of a collar, to a dog. This action gives extra meaning to the previous scene through the rope. He is anxious about any form of disobedience, but this anxiety is trumped by his love of this dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the title card we get further shots of the boy leisurely playing with the dog while two older black woman servants (a fact implied by their backbreaking work and the Apartheid flag from the previous scene) work the house’s garden. This boy’s joy over the dog brings smiles to the workers. But someone sees this display, as the boy is playing in the bright daylight we hard cut to a shot through the house’s window at the film’s main antagonist, the white man in charge. Even disregarding the Apartheid flag, his role as a the antagonist is set up through this establishing shot; the hard cut from bright play of the boy to the off center shot of this strong tall man looming, partially concealed, in the shadows with an unreadable expression on his face gives an immediate jolt of anxiety to the audience. The complete silence of it adds to it as well, a sense of foreboding if you will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man leasurly steps outside a few shots later. His position in the center of the shot, his relaxed gait and the rifle strapped to his back establishes him quickly as a man of presence, of power. The understatement of these movements, as well as the relative emotionless way he goes about the rest of the scene, also gives a sense of sheer indifference to the events around him, like what he is doing is so minor it doesn’t even register on his moral spectrum. At this point any slightly upbeat music or larger breathy shots are gone and the camera hyper focuses in on just the man and the boy, giving a sense of tight claustrophobia that the boy is no doubt feeling from being directly addressed by his superior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is following this that we get possibly the most important beat of the film. The dog is beaten infront of the boy the man;s explanation being “The dog needs to learn a lesson.” and then orders the boy to open the bag so the dog can see him, effectively associating the boy with the trauma the dog suffered and ending their relationship. The boy refuses the request a few times until the man gets physical, threatening him with the big bad gun, the power the boy doesn’t have, and the boy relents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the scene the dog despises the boy and his spirit is crushed. The man’s word’s cut deeper here, and the name of the film’s name is given a new meaning. The man’s reasoning and the title no longer refer to the dog, but the boy. The boy rebelled, if only in small ways; making the dog a collar, playing with him, while the other servants worked, and so he “had to learn a lesson.” The man reaffirmed the mentality and message of the Apartheid flag in the first shot. No matter what the boy thinks or feels he is at the mercy of the stronger, gun wielding, white man. The boy is the man’s dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NOW TO COMPARE In the movie Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Arc, the opening sequence plays out very differently for obvious reasons. While Inja is a slow piece meant to stew on ideas and societal tensions through the lens of a young boy and his dog, Raiders of the Lost Arc is an action flic. At the climax of the opening sequence of Inja, the beating of the dog, we see many slow shots without much movement from our main character. The action is dragged out over several shots with no dynamic sounds or quickly building tension, it is meant to feel hopeless and depressing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Indiana Jones on the other hand shows the titular character in a moody room closing in on a brilliant gold object as he contemplates how best to remove it without setting off a trap. Jones carefully fills a bag of sand before he swaps it with the statue. The slow yet building music in the background adds to the tension of the scene, the anticipation, while the lack of music in Inja gives no anticipation in it’s scene. In Raiders of the Lost Arc we are feeling anxious over whether or not Jones will successfully make the switch, tension is building, then released. It’s a little adrenaline rush that is given again and again throughout the movie. This is how action movies work, set up a tension, pay it off with something of varying degrees of bombasticity. Like stealing an ancient golden statue. This set up of tension works here, while the dreadful tension of Inja’s scene, payed off with a dragged out painful beating of the dog, works for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We are introduced to our protagonist with him raising someone else’s flag. The flag…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,42],"tags":[12],"class_list":["post-774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a1","category-analysis","tag-fri-9am"],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","featured_preview":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","desktop":"","grid":"","rss-thumb":""},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":" We are introduced to our protagonist with him raising someone else’s flag. The flag of Apartheid racial regime. Here the setting and struggle of the character are readily established in two simple shots. This black boy is oppressed, doing work for a white man of higher stature. This is communicated before the audience is even given a look at his immediate surroundings, work, or his boss. The next few shots establish our protagonist’s attitude towards his situation. He pauses his work on the flag and looks towards the house (the camera following this shift in focus), which appears mundane on…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"A1<\/a>, Analysis<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"robert.hebert","url":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/author\/robert-hebert\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/saATJA-inja","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1229,"url":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/analysis1-jareds\/","url_meta":{"origin":774,"position":0},"title":"Analysis1 – JaredS","author":"Jared Steinbrecher","date":"February 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Inja has minimal dialog, most of it in a different language. To make up for this it utilizes context and a variety of smart shots. The first things we see is a shot of servants working in a field. The second shot of the film we see a young boy,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A1"","block_context":{"text":"A1","link":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/category\/analysis\/a1\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Anni-Albers-Artwork-detail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Anni-Albers-Artwork-detail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Anni-Albers-Artwork-detail.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Anni-Albers-Artwork-detail.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Anni-Albers-Artwork-detail.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":743,"url":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/analisys-claireh\/","url_meta":{"origin":774,"position":1},"title":"Analisys-ClaireH","author":"claire.hubby","date":"January 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The film Inja uses a variety of shots to portray the story since the film has minimal dialog and it is in a different language. The second shot of the film we see a young boy playing with a puppy. As the camera pans to follow them playing, we are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A1"","block_context":{"text":"A1","link":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/category\/analysis\/a1\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/maxresdefault-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/maxresdefault-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/maxresdefault-4.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/maxresdefault-4.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/maxresdefault-4.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":614,"url":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/analysis1-jacksonh\/","url_meta":{"origin":774,"position":2},"title":"Analysis1-JacksonH","author":"jackson.heichel","date":"January 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The first character introduced in Inja is Thembile, a young boy. We see him first as he is playing with a puppy. This helps us to see Thembile as a sympathetic character and a caring person. This characterization is then cemented as we then see him risk getting in trouble\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A1"","block_context":{"text":"A1","link":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/category\/analysis\/a1\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/broadcast-broadcasting-camcorder-66134.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/broadcast-broadcasting-camcorder-66134.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/broadcast-broadcasting-camcorder-66134.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/broadcast-broadcasting-camcorder-66134.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":782,"url":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/analysis-aidenn\/","url_meta":{"origin":774,"position":3},"title":"Analysis-AidenN","author":"AidenN","date":"January 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Our main character is introduced by cutting some rope off the flag pole in order to create a collar for the new dog. The flag during this period of time shows South Africa during its apartheid era, and symbolizes how the Dog will also become a tool like the African\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A1"","block_context":{"text":"A1","link":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/category\/analysis\/a1\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":608,"url":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/analysis-jordanj\/","url_meta":{"origin":774,"position":4},"title":"Analysis-JordanJ","author":"JordanJ","date":"February 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Inja begins with a shot of farmhands at work accompanied by soft and calming music. The next scene we see is of the boy, Thembile playing with the dog. This shot accompanied with the soft music creates a sort of playful and innocent vibe to the wide shot of Thembile\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A1"","block_context":{"text":"A1","link":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/category\/analysis\/a1\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-27-at-6.19.46-PM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-27-at-6.19.46-PM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-27-at-6.19.46-PM.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-27-at-6.19.46-PM.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":692,"url":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/analysis-carlyc\/","url_meta":{"origin":774,"position":5},"title":"Analysis-CarlyC","author":"carly.cornish","date":"January 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Part 1: Even though the video is in a different language, the images in the video allow us to be able to truly understand what's happening. For example, when the boy is raising the flag, it's an image that familiar and universal in our own culture as we raise the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A1"","block_context":{"text":"A1","link":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/category\/analysis\/a1\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/misty-trees.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/misty-trees.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/misty-trees.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/misty-trees.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/misty-trees.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/misty-trees.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=774"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1171,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774\/revisions\/1171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd106\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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