In French film ‘La Haine’ a wide variety of technical methods were used in order to achieve the portrayal of the messages and values of which director Kassovitz encodes within the text. Among key scenes in La Haine the elements of mise-en-scene and sound are vital at portraying how the scene is going to unfold and what messages the scene will represent.
Kassovitz aims to create different personalities for the characters through the use of mise-en-scene and sound. It is interesting how the subtle use of mise-en-scene is but also how prominent the messages are upon further inspection. During the scene where Vinz is introduced to us, elements of the mise-en-scene are scattered throughout his room to enhance this encoded message. The message being the westernised American, culture having such an immense influence on the country of France and its people.
The first thing we see Vinz doing is dancing in the underground, in a long shot, he is dancing to Jewish style music and he seems to be extremely happy about something. This information the audience gathers from the mise-en-scene of Vinz’s performance and the non-diegetic song that accompanies this is significant. We now know Vinz is Jewish or from a Jewish background, this is significant in representing the culture and race differences from character to character; an underlying message throughout the entire plot. The following close up shot is of VInz sleeping and drooling, through the use of this straight cut we now know the previous shot was a dream Vinz was having. This tells us Vinz is a dreamer and this interlinks with the messages behind the American memorabilia littered in his room; Vinz is taken over by this westernised media and he dreams of being free in his own culture.
Another element of the mise-en-scene which is significant when portraying the influential western culture within this French society are the posters in Vinz’s room. The first one we see behind him when he awakes has a cannabis leaf on, telling us the drug culture is bigger than the stereotype the world knows. This also hints at how casual the drug culture is in Vinz’s life and the society he lives in, his performance also tells us this; he acts lousy and uncaring. The message behind this is significant because it shows how drugs have been accepted into this culture now due to the influence from the western countries.
Other posters littered around Vinz’s room can be seen through the use of a 360ยบ shot. The way this is filmed is significant because it tells us that he is surrounded by this memorabilia; surrounded by this prominent westernised ideology. The content of the posters is significant because they each carry meaning behind them. A good example of this would be the picture of Bruce Lee on the back of the door. This is significant because it shows us how much of a violent person Vinz is due to the influential power of the western media. We also know from the interaction between Vinz’s sister and Vinz himself, the argumentative conversation gives us information about the relationship they’re in. They seem to be arguing because there is no other male. fatherly figure in the family and Vinz has to be responsible for his family. This ties in with the idea that role models are a huge factor within the social situation. Vinz is supposed to be a role model for his family but he is too busy dreaming about the westernised culture and treating that as his role model.
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