Marie Antoinette: Mis-En-Scene

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    Marie Antoinette is a great film directed by Sofia Coppola about a young Austrian women who ends up becoming the queen of France by marrying a French Dauphin. Throughout the movie, there are many elements that Sofia Coppola used to create such an appealing film. I believe that throughout the film, there are a few messages that Coppola is trying to get across, such as accepting the life that is given to you, the impact of your decisions on other people, and enjoying the life you have. First, I believe that the message of accepting the life that is given to you is expressed through the beginning of the film when young Marie is sent off to France with no choice yet she seems to be unbothered by it all and just accepts the fate that her family chose for her. Second, I believe that the ending of the movie gives the message that you should think about the impact your decisions are making on other people. For example, if the queen were to not spend so much money on luxury items such as parties and her fancy clothes, then she could have focused more on the people of France and been accepted by them rather than rebelled against. Finally, I think the message portrayed throughout the middle of the film is enjoying the life you have. I see this from Maries partying and the constant suspense of not knowing what is going to happen next that a viewer experiences during parts of the film. 

    Throughout the film, Coppola used similar scenes to demonstrate the how Marie was never really in control of her own life. Some of these scenes involved Marie giving birth with many people in her room, Marie getting ready with people bringing her options of clothing for the day, and of course Marie being forced into the roll of Queen by her parents and the people of France. Some of the Mis-En-Scene and cinematography that Coppola used was Antoinette's facial expressions and the lighting used for scenes to produce a romantic, happy, or angry mood. For example, during Antoinette's affair there were not many words exchanged and it was mostly the facial expressions between Marie and the man that gave the viewers an idea of their feelings toward each other. Also, during the rebellion of the French people at the end of the film, the lighting was very dark and gloomy to portray an angry emotion for the viewer. 

    Coppola's film demonstrates a great example of bad cultural awareness. As explained by an academic source, cultural awareness is defined as "the ability of standing back from ourselves and becoming aware of our cultural values, beliefs, and perceptions...". A viewer of this movie can easily see that Marie Antoinette does not know much about her area and just acts without thinking and looking at the bigger picture. Another academic article gave a great example of what bad cultural awareness can do-"Without this understanding, the United States cannot develop and sustain effective multinational organizations nor can it devise and execute effective strategies to win the Global War on Terrorism. The United States springs into action without much thought to how it will win the hearts and minds of those it is trying to help".  An ignorance to cultural awareness can be a great downfall of a country as seen in Marie Antoinette's decisions on behalf of her country. 

Academic Source 1

Academic Source 2