How To Mise En Scene In Children Of Men

“Children of Men” is a film set in a post-apocalyptic England that has been ravaged by infertility and the ensuing chaos that threatens the end of mankind. The very beginning of “Children of Men” gives us as an audience a very powerful glimpse into the story with only the sound of a news broadcast that states “Day 1000 in the siege of Seattle.” “The Muslim community demands an end to military occupation.” “British borders remain closed, the deportation of illegal immigrants will continue.” These quick broadcasts shows that through only the power of sound without being given visuals we can quickly create our own assumption as what is happening to the world we inhabit. The story revolves around a man named Theo who is an everyday office worker

For example we have the opening scene which begins in a standard coffee shop; we know this from obvious things such as the writings on the wall as well as the cutlery and pastries on display. These factors allow us to quickly grasp the setting regardless of the large crowd gathering around the television. The scene then moves out to the street where we are quickly shown things that help us sum up our surroundings. Every moment of the street sequence gives us different aspects that help us realize that what we are seeing is Britain, or to be more precise London. Most noticeable of these aspects being the British flags and double decker busses scattered across the background. There are also several major indications that show the scene is taking place in the future, some of which being the large moving advertisements and news broadcasts on the sides of busses and buildings, there are also vehicles on the road that seem more advanced. Then as the camera rotates we are given a small caption that states “London, 16th November 2027” confirming the futuristic British scene being portrayed before us. The indicators previously listed help make the before mentioned date more believable; although we are told the date and place, the actual setting is used to help portray the concept further. Another job that the setting does here is help give us an idea of what kind of future this particular story is telling. The street looks very dirty and busy, which is quite different as to how the future is usually given form. London s rather being presented in a more dystopian like fashion compared to our more utopian hopes of a future. The garbage in the streets and fumes running from cars help reinforce this idea. The follow up scene takes place at our protagonist Theo’s place of work where we immediately are told the locational setting once more by a large sign on the wall reading