What Is The Mise-En-Scene Of M Film Analysis

On top of the hysteria surroundingof the mass murderer Kürten, Germany in 1931 was a fragmented country that was starting to lose control over itself. The recovering economy established through bustling industrialization in the late 1920’s slowly crashed as the world markets failedtanked. Unemployment peaked at around 33 percent33% and industrial output decreased 40 percent% in 3 years. The liberal, enlightened social climate slowly gave way to hatred and bigotry as citizens looked for people to blame for their problems. Demonstrations against Jews and Communists increased and the cabaret cultureCabaret Culture began to decline. The rational, thoughtful, and democratic Weimar republic Republic slowly lost its grips on the government, giving way to the delusional, fascist Nazi Party. In the film M, Fritz Lang uses mise-en-scene, editing, cinematography, and sound to embodyin order to manifest Hans Beckert’s mental illness,
The mise-en-scene of the film gives the viewers a sense that Beckert has two different sides of his personality. Throughout the movie there are various mirrors and reflective surfaces that Beckert looks into, suggesting this dichotomous personality. The first time the viewer sees Beckert’s face he is looking at a reflection of himself. It seems like an ordinary interaction, but as time progresses his eyes grow wider and his face takes the form of a menacing scowl (Appendix A). This scene is coupled with a J-cut of a psychologist’s analysis of Beckert’s handwriting in his letter sent to the newspaper. The psychologist says how the person who wrote the letter must have sadistic qualities and be a psychopathic madman. Beckert’s change in emotion and facial expression in this scene justifies the analysis of the psychologist and shows how although he may seem like an average citizen on the