Unit 1, Part B- Entry 5

13 January 2017

Over this past week, I've been noticing the importance of props -and how props relate to the words quality and quantity.

In films, oftentimes props are not noticed unless they frequent the screen multiple times. The more times a prop is shown, the more the audience is expected to notice said prop. For example, in the film Dirty Pretty Things (2002), directed by Stephen Frears, the number of times clocks (or watches) and mirrors are shown on the screen is absolutely immense. The production designer of this film is Rebecca Holmes.

I've seen this film a few times, and perhaps my second time watching it, I started to notice this trend and I was absolutely fascinated by it. It's beautiful how something like a prop can increase the quality of a film because it clarifies the themes being explored inside the film.  The prop itself increases in quality because a story and a meaning is attached to that prop through the film -it would not be shown in extreme close up if it was not important. Additionally, the quantity, or the number of times these props were on the screen increased the quality of the themes and emotions being expressed.

In this case, the themes being discussed were: morality, time, and identity. Okwe, the main protagonist reaches many points throughout the story where he must consult his identity to make ethical decisions. The problem with this however, was that he didn't know who he was -only what people thought of him. The entire film he never looked in the mirror, he had to figure this out for himself. Time also, seems to grab ahold of Okwe, forcing him to consider things he never thought of before; the clocks and the mirrors both have a ring of light around them seeming to represent purity, found over time and in the actions of the characters who looked in the mirror. Although the characters did things that were wrong and time often seemed to be against them, in the end their identities and lives were redeemed, suggesting this idea of purity and rebirth.