Jackie Brown Case Study

The opening of Jackie Brown begins with an iconic tracking shot (iconic largely due to its length) which establishes the main character, a middle-age black woman, as living an seemingly dull, uninteresting lifestyle as an air hostess. Tarantino (director) goes against generic conventions by using such a woman as a lead character, however her first introduction is neither shocking nor surprising, thus the audience is not threatened or weary of her. Jackie is too seen as a 'femme fatale' due to her 'feminine conventions' /stereotypes such as her short dress and well kept hair and nails. Theses alone could make Jackie vulnerable to the thriller conventions as usually women of such appearance are victimised / suffer, this its common for the audience to dislike/ have no interest with the female characters as they are portrayed as weak. However, the shot encourages the audience to side with Jackie, which is again uncommon as its later revealed she is an actual criminal.

As the credits play, Jackie maintains one third of the screen, this further enforces (alongside the long tracking shot) the importance of the her without really relieving why; this encourages the audience to continue to watch. Jackie's bright uniform brings a pop of colour to a typically 70's coloured mundane backdrop, therefore suggesting she is perhaps 'better' than her current or seen lifestyle. Throughout the tracking shot Jackie's eyes rarely stop looking ahead; this proposes that she has a clear idea of 'where she is going' in terms of her life and successes, or perhaps that she is determined to keeping looking ahead in order to discover 'where she is going'.

This Scene is similar to that of The Graduate (1967)
Both tracking shots within an airport.

Bobby Womack's - Across 110th Street is played throughout the tracking shot before turning to the buzz of the airport. The song is upbeat however its lyrics are somewhat pensive.

The lyrics to Womack's song are a kind of anthem to Jackie's life:
Been down so long, getting up didn’t cross my mind,
I knew there was a better way of life that I was just trying to find.
You don’t know what you’ll do until you’re put under pressure

The lyrics make the audience question what Jackie's problem /issue is, this is when Tarantino slightly diverts from Jackie's tracking shot to show the airport security - a normal part of her job or an intrusion?

However this is subtle and wouldn't be noticed on the first viewing.

Within this scene two male characters are introduced, Louis and Robbie. They're slouched in their seats whilst comfortably and casually discussing gun crime, while watching a presumably (due to the fast forwarding) recorded version of 'girls with guns'; the fact its recorded suggests that the two men, particularly Robbie who appears more engaged and enthusiastic about the conversation, often think of and discuss crime, certainly as a leisure activity, which makes them appear dangerous. The manner of which crime is discussed makes it humours, despite it being a strong thriller convention, they're a prop that is seemingly easily accessible in the US therefore this could frighten /intimidate audiences.

This scene is a completely contradicts the female conventions that are previously shown via Jackie. The show that Louis and Robbie are watching 'Girls with guns' shows young, stereotypically good looking women in skimpy clothing, thus they're hyper sexualised despite the given power the gun would usually give them. Melanie, the only female in this scene, is dictated by Louis and Robbie as she is order to get them both a drink. 

We're first introduced to Melanie by her bare feet

This extreme close up suggests that Melanie is somewhat of a 'beach bum', and a thriller convention of her not maintaining any status or power. However, it could too suggest that she 'walks all over' people or that she is 'walked over' herself, the latter more likely. Melanie's expression of flesh mimics that of the women on 'girls with guns' therefore she is both instantly degraded as well as being linked to violence (like the women on the TV show). Melanie's statute is slouched much like the two men, whereas Jackie's as upright; this instantly differentiates the characters and after the audience siding with Jackie in the first scene, the audience now look down upon Melanie.