Mise-en-scene “The Last Emperor”

This shot from the film “The Last Emperor” manages to convey a sense of power and majesty of an exotic culture, but it also hints at an end to this way of life. It shows or conveys a sense of power because of the position of the characters, they are all kneeling down in perfect straight lines looking forward and this evokes a sense of respect. At the same time another thing that evokes the sense of respect is that the shot is perfectly symmetrical and it gives a sense of order. The temple in the set looks very powerful and huge because of the difference in the size in the people kneeling at the front and the temple it self. This shot makes the audience feel inferior and weak because it is a wide long shot, which evokes the feeling of domination.

All the people kneeling dressed in weird costumes that makes us realize it is another culture. People look loyal and as if they were waiting for the end of something. It manages to do this by showing everything in a dark tone, which evokes a sense of doom. Also it does this by showing the throne at the beginning of the long path.