Connor Martin MACR 121 * Section 1* The Golden Ages Golden Scene Elizabeth: The Golden Age is a film

that uses substantial imagery to prove its points. This is a technique that is used very often by Shekhar Kapur. In the particular clip in which we notice the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scotts, Kapur uses the set design and costume choices to accentuate the moods and themes of the scene. The concept behind the clip is meant to highlight several different emotions being felt by Queen Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scotts respectively. The variety of moods set in this scene is supposed to be the quiet piousness that Mary, Queen of Scotts ultimately portrays juxtaposed with the guilt and remorse that Queen Elizabeth is feeling as the execution takes place. Without reading excessively into the symbolism behind the red dress worn by Mary, Queen of Scotts, we can already observe some basic techniques used here to make her stand out from the rest of the people on the set. Mary wore a bright red dress that brightened exceptionally in the sets lighting. The rest of the characters in the scene wore black as if they were at a funeral. The choice to give everyone else black is both to draw our eye to Mary and to give us the air of attending a funeral. In many ways this scene is the pinnacle achievement for Mary, Queen of Scotts. Her death causes controversy over Queen Elizabeths ability to reign and makes a martyr out of Mary, Queen of Scotts. We can detract this emotional belittling experienced by Queen Elizabeth in this clip is portrayed through her wardrobe choice. She is wearing a very faded green that actually blends in with the dark beige walls of the set and the slightly brighter greens of her wake of wards.

The other powerful component that re-enforces this scene is the set design. Throughout this clip, particularly in the execution, the blocking remains extremely symmetrical, which helps us, focus in on a particular individual or subject. Within the actual execution, all of the other characters are shoved to the top of the shot and cluttered in a sort of semi-circle, setting Mary, Queen of Scotts at the center. Even the executioner placed next to her blends in with the lighting, almost as if he isnt there. The candles are strategically placed around the set to surround Mary, giving her a sort of pious air, or halo as she is being executed. In that same vein, as the camera follows Queen Elizabeth in the other section of the scene, as the camera hovers above her and her wards walking in single file, we fail to individualize the characters based on the lack of lighting in the scene. As Elizabeth breaks away as she goes into her emotional close-up however, her wards stay in formation, helping us identify Elizabeth only when necessary. This technique once again is used to belittle Queen Elizabeths character, which strays away from the uniformity of the shot only to have a brief scene in which she shows weakness, whereas Mary, Queen of Scotts becomes the absolute center of the shot in every single frame she is a part of. This is arguably one of the most defining scenes in the film, in which an extremely pivotal event in the storyline happens in a matter of minutes. The costumes and symmetrical blocking set the mood and demand the viewers emotional attention. Subsequently, we begin to question Elizabeths sound judgment as we watch her fall apart in a single shot.