Framing (BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK)

A question asked by a student about sequence shots should be clarified (made clear) too. I told this student that, though I used the term "sequence shot," in fact often a sequence shot is more complex than what I showed. As I told this student, probably a better term would have been "long take." (I refer to the shot where all the actors are sitting down, seemingly paralyzed with fear or apprehension.) A "long take" is a shot longer than usual, possibly of one minute or more (these terms are sometimes are definite). Now a sequence shot is a long take with a lot of camera movements, usually complex camera movements, tracking shots, pan shots, rearrangement of characters in the frame, etc. The reason I used the term "sequence shot" for that long take I just referred to is because in fact there are many characters in the frame, setting up a complex arrangement, like a sequence shot. But you'll see real sequence shots in this class, of course. By the way, don't confuse "sequence shot" and "shot sequence"! A shot sequence is a succession of shots, usually from long, medium, to closeup, a typical way to introduce a scene. For example, a long shot of a house, a closer shot of the man in front of the house, then a closeup of that man. These shot sequences are usually not especially noteworthy, but then there's the shot sequence in the horror classic, Frankenstein, where we first meet the monster in a series of quick shots ending in a dramatic closeup. We'll certainly study this sequence in our class!
    I would like to conclude with more ideas to help you enjoy this week's film.
    I talked about the water theme in the dusty town. The title suggests a contrast between a "rock" ("Black Rock") and the water the Japanese farmer finds in his well (a rock is a place where there is no water, unless you're Moses in the Bible).
   The final point I would like to make is the symbolism of karate in the film. Because the viewer assumes that Spencer Tracy learned karate from the Japanese man who saved his life in World War II. So there's a lot of rich meanings here: the dead soldier gets his revenge for the murder of his father by teaching his avenging angel, Spencer Tracy, the martial art that will effect that revenge. It's also ironic that an Asian art is used in a Western movie (instead of guns, horses, etc.), because the movie, of course, is about the issue of racism.
    As an historical note, students should know of the unfortunate internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, while America fought its war with Japan. So Bad Day at Black Rock works as a 1. Western, 2. War movie (in parts), and 3. Message film (about racism).
    So my final point is how Hollywood can make so many serious movies that don't seem serious to the viewer (most American viewers would probably have enjoyed this movie, at the time of its release, as no more than 1. entertainment, 2. a Spencer Tracy movie, 3. a wide-screen movie, 4. a Western. Yet the movie clearly makes a political statement, which, without its star and wide-screen format, would probably have been seen by only a handful of people, instead of tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) of people.