Children of Men - Opening Scene analysis

From this exercise, we explore the action code and the enigma code of the opening sequence of the film 'Children of Men'. What's interesting is that in two minutes, the viewers are able to grasp the mood, medium, and the character of the film. How can so many information be encoded in only two minutes?

SETTING

Firstly, we know that the setting is a dystopia world. An evidence that supports this idea is the sound of the news report at the beginning of the movie. Even without moving pictures, we can tell that the movie is set in the future (year 2027) - and with a still black background, the viewers are more focused on the diegetic sounds rather than what's happening. Therefore, we automatically grasp that tiny bit of information and store it in the back of our minds for later purposes and understanding.

But knowing that it's an event happening in the future does not mean it's a dystopia one?
Yes, that is true. Therefore, lets move to the next evidence. Let us define the world dystopia. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word 'Dystopia' is defined as 'An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one.' Yes... So now what?
Along with the information of our future date, another important code was hidden. The reporter mentioned 'day 1,000 of the siege of Seattle'. A siege happens when one (or more) force(s) surrounds a city, or an armed barricade in an attempt to wear down the city's supplies and cut of any routes of access. It is a term often used in war, and war is indeed a factor that interrupts the equilibrium of the world. Another information from the news report is that there is an 'army occupation of the Mosques'. Mosques are the symbol of Islam. This then tell us that not only a siege is happening in Seattle, the war goes even further into a religious conflict. The extreme long shot of when the main character walks out of the coffee shop shows military helicopters in the sky. This, more over, emphasizes the idea of war. War is unpleasant. It is bad. And it has an effect on the environment, degrading it both physically and mentally. Therefore, we can consider this world a dystopia.

(Oh! and look there - the date printed in letters for you viewers!)

(As a reference to the color scheme and the tone of the scene - photo from yourmiddleeast.com)

 Not only that, but we can also see that London is occupied with people of different cultures (as we can see certain Chinese wagons that looks similar to Thai Tuk Tuk cars) so as a large amount of dust and untended areas (with rubbish scattered on the streets). This future society looks degraded and shabby. It indicates lack of caring from a decent peaceful government. The tone and color palette used reminded me of the photos I've seen from the current Middle-Eastern war. The sky is in a dusty -orangy color and there is no clearance to the sun at all. The buildings does not look as futuristic as we always imagined our future to be either. Therefore, we can conclude that the setting is a dystopian world where it is NOT sunny and happy.

We also know that the disruption of the equilibrium in this film wasn't only war, but the death of an important person as well. Baby Diego, which, we know was the youngest person in the world, died. This raised a series of questions to how and why he is the youngest person in the world, having being eighteen and not anymore a small infant. Something bad needs to happen for our natural way of giving birth to be abolished.

Character

From the short extract, viewers know that the main character is troubled by something and is just bored of the fictional world he lives in. We can know this because he seems to care less about the shocking news. Every single person in the coffee shop was fixated on the screen at the counter while he alone forces himself inside and quickly got off. The composition of this shot shows him turning his back to the world, trying to swim his way through the current. We know suddenly that he is a character of importance, for he is notable and distinctive among the crowds. We can see this method used often in many films. The main character usually stand out either by the mise-on-scene of the color he or she wears, or the camera work and techniques such as a shallow depth of field. It is interesting because although there is another television behind the crowds displaying the same channel, the crowds still push their way in to look at the one above the counter. The television at the door might only be there just to further emphasize the importance of Baby Diego's death more to the viewers than the characters.

To add on to this idea, the buildings outside also show the snapshots of the news report about Baby Diego even though the characters on the streets did not seem to care anymore. Only the viewers can see the display screens in the background. This tells us just what a big deal his death is.

Another evidence to support the idea the the main character has a troubled past of his own was when he put alcohol into his coffee. People don't usually drink alcohol with coffee for caffeine keeps you awake and the alcohol make you feel somber. These two contrasts shows that he wants to get away from where he is and forget about it, but actually can not.