The Thin Blue Line Vs Cloverfield Analysis

The Thin Blue Line, directed by Errol Morris in 1988, and Cloverfield, directed by Matt Reeves in 2009, are two completely different films. However, although they are different films, they both utilize realist aesthetics to offer a truth about the world we live in today. The Thin Blue Line and Cloverfield apply realist aesthetics such as direct address to camera, on-camera interview, textual information on screen, handheld camera, and several other aesthetics to reveal what truth is offered, how it is offered, and lastly, why it is offered. Cloverfield, in comparison to The Thin Blue Line, was a much more entertaining film to watch due to its choice and use of realist aesthetics. Cloverfield displayed handheld camera, textual information

Although it is quite easy to feel dizzy and get motion sickness with this method, it is more enjoyable and beneficial to the audience in a way that they are seeing everything the characters are experiencing simultaneously. Towards the beginning of the film, Cloverfield, displayed textual information on screen in order to reveal to the audience where the footage we were about to see came from or where it was found. The use of that realist aesthetic already gave the audience an insight into the film. It told them that because this footage was property of the U.S. Government and that it was found in an area once “known as “Central Park””, there would be questions that were left unanswered. Not only did Cloverfield exemplify the realist aesthetics of handheld camera and textual information on screen, but it also portrayed the usage of direct address to camera. The direct address to the camera in Cloverfield started out as the characters recording goodbye messages to Rob who was accepting a new job outside of New York and in Japan. Once chaos hit, the direct address to the camera transformed into not only goodbye messages to Rob who was leaving to Japan, but goodbye messages from Rob and Beth who were hoping, that if they didn’t live, someone would find the

The available mise-en-scene used throughout The Thin Blue Line, in my opinion, was used to pass on to the audience the fact that the story being told throughout the film is in fact true. Whenever Randall, David, or someone else was speaking, the film would switch from whomever was speaking and display a photo or short video of the person, place, or object they spoke of. Therefore, displaying to the audience that what or whomever they were speaking of was an actual person, place, or thing. The film also conducted on-camera interviews of people who were of importance or contributed to the case. The on-camera interviews were conducted so the audience could hear everyone’s story as each their own rather than one person influencing another. The on-camera interviews were also done in order to address the important questions that would be of interest to the audience rather than just telling an ongoing never ending story; the interviewer wanted the interviewee to elaborate on his stories but also have them answer the question directly. In addition to The Thin Blue Line utilizing available mise-en-scene and on-camera interview, the film also brought forth existing footage to back up the saying of the interviewees. The film allowed the audience to listen into an old interview recording of David Ray Harris speaking of Randall Adams and