The Great Gatsby

In Jack Clayton's film adaptation of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the director uses several visual techniques to emphasize and heighten the illusion of the American dream. These visual techniques include: Framing, color, lighting & space.

The most interesting type of framing repeated al throughout the film is the use of mirrors in trapping the characters in their surreal reflection. The director used this technique in more than one scenes, nevertheless this framing was used when Gatsby is about to meet a character from the novel or film. This technique started when during the party, Gatsby's bodyguard calls Nick to go with him to meet with Gatsby, Nick looked at the mirror when he entered the room. He looked at the mirror, knew where Gatsby is and went to talk to him. Afterwards, this technique was re emphasized again when Daisy was about to meet up for the first Gatsby at her cousin's house nick. Daisy looked at the mirror and saw Gatsby. Daisy was MO7ATAH by her favorite white flowers before she saw Gatsby. Where in the first reflected frame, Nick saw him through a small mirror. This implies that the first meeting was NEISHIF and it didn't have any history, where as in the second reflected scene, it took a while for Daisy to make sure that it's Gatsby while she was mo7atah by flowers. The director was playing on the viewers mind unconscious. In the scene where Gatsby, Nick & Daisy go to Gatsby's house & sit in his room, the three were sitting in a room made up of mirrors. As soon as Nick leaves the room, the director focuses on them through the mirrors in the room, especially when Nick leaves and Daisy and Jay starts looking at each other. On the other hand, this technique was used when Tom was laying on the bed & his lover Myrtle was putting some make up on her face. The director related the reflected scenes into the fact even they are so close to each other, but there's still distance between both of them. In the scene where Daisy goes with her cousin Jordan to her lover's house through the boat, Daisy & Jay discuss Daisy's relation with tom, through the mirrors. Even though they are in the same room, but yet Distance was created. Mirror symbolizes distance, where in this specific scene, Tom's presence in Daisy life is was the barrier.

The key color in the novel that was re emphasized visually by Clayton is the color green.

Fitzgerald relates this color to a soul element: the light indicating daisy's house. This light is symbolic to Gatsby's aim, daisy, his hope to reach her and his greater American dream. Clayton, on the other hand, repeats this color in three elements serving the same thematic function: the green light, the green ring and Jordan's green jewelry. (See the paper). Before discussing the aim of using the green color, artists say that the green color means envy and money (as dollars). This analysis can be related to the use of color. The green light was related to the hope that Jay believed in & resembled it to his meeting with his only love Daisy. The green ring, that "the Gatsby has given to Daisy, yet will wear himself, most visibly after his murder at the end of the film "(Papers). The use of the green color in this specific act meant Envy because at the end of film, when Georges kills Jay, the only thing we see was the green ring. Concerning Jordan's Jewelry?! ?!

The lighting two functions as a blinding light of disillusionment between