Justin Appleton: Lens Blog

Post War Italian Independence


   

   Out of all the intriguing pictures on this blog, I found this one to be one of the more interesting ones. The main reason I chose this image was because it resembles the characteristics of a film still as opposed to a pure photograph. The composition with-in the frame maximizes the minds imagination. Along with that, the form of low-key lighting provides a dramatic effect similar to a classic Hollywood film noir.
    Mis-en-scene is a film production word basically defined as what is compiled inside the frame. The photographer uses his lens to identify with all the players in the setting of this small town “deli”, for lack of a better word. There’s the regulars, dressed in all white, the milk-man, who I’m assuming uses his bicycle for timely deliveries and the villain, who is lurking in the shadows. I feel like all of this is setting the stage for a dramatic climax.
    I used the term film noir before, which was influenced by certain artistic movements and two that come into play when discussing this image. Chiaroscuro is an expression mainly used in painting and drawing but is basically defined as high contrast between light and dark. This produces strong shadows. This is evident with the man in black hiding in the dark on the far right side of the picture. Despite the villain’s image, the rest of the lighting is rather bright along with the cast’s wardrobe. The other movement is Italian neo-realism, a post war film movement emphasizing the financial struggles of Italian post war economy. I feel this is somewhat self evident because of the context of the photo. The film that most comes to mind is “The Bicycle Thieves” a famous neo-realist flick that tells the story of a father who depends on his job that requires a bicycle.  I envision the narrative of the milk-man and the bicycle he depends on to survive.
    As a film major, this image attracted my attention for several reasons. I believe it was during an episode of HBO’s “The Wire” that claims, “You need a lot of context to understand anything”. With that being said and despite the historical approach to the photograph, I strongly believe that this image can stand alone. Because of this I didn’t originally hear a voice in terms of a subject matter despite being well aware of the history behind the image. All in all, despite the picture being without a doubt a photo of the documentary style, my cinematic state of mind fell in love with the picture as being a neo-realist/ film noir film still.