Analysis-+Raising+Arizona

Analysis: Raising Arizona - Jocelyn Hung

//Raising Arizona// (1987) is a black comedy directed and produced by the Coen Brothers. In which Hi (Nicholas cage), an ex con, marries an ex cop and decides to steal a baby. The decision was made after Ed discovered that she was infertile.

The Coen Brothers are known for the artificial world they create 1 . "Many of the films of the Coen brothers are specific to particular regions and communities … //Raising Arizona// paints a very particular picture of the inhabitants of the American South-West" 2 . Their films are always almost cartoon-like yet very believable. Coen Brothers creates this world in //Raising Arizona// with cinematography techniques, editing styles, and sound choices.

The most obvious choice to create a almost comic like film was the entire set design —its mise-en-scéne. The film seems like it was shot on a theater stage. Though it looks realistic and believable, the film looks like it was a play. There are a few sets in the film that looked almost like it was sculpted out of clay. For example the arrangement of interior of Nathan Arizona's house creates a surrealistic atmosphere: like dramatically exaggerated reality. The other setting that looked half-fake and half-real was the town's long road, where Hi and the rider had the final showdown. These set design remind the audience that this film, though deals with serious moral issues, should not be taken that seriously. The sets emphasize the theatrical element of the film.

Another element that significantly highlights the comical and theatrical quality of the film is the dialogues of the characters. Every single line of the characters in the movie is carefully written. The Coen brothers are known for their "striking ability to compose brilliant dialogue for their characters" which is considered as "the most distinguished aspect of their work" 3 . This is also obvious in this film. The fact that the characters speak in a southern accent makes up the "falseness" of the dialogues. Most conversations in this film were dramatic and over-the-top, but it seems real because the actors present them with accurate southern accents. This techniques also contributes to the Coen Brother's signature artificial world. Blending reality with their imagination.

Besides this artificial world, humor is also very important in Coen Brother's films. Humor and the artificial worlds run parallel to each other. The Coen Brothers use humor to accentuate the artificial world, and the artificial world to create humorous moments. For example in the film, the scene where Hi decides to steal diapers from the convenient store was choreographed perfectly to create a dramatic and humorous episode in a believable artificial world. The scene follows this sequence: the cashier pulls out a large gun, Ed drives off, HI runs down the street," Ed picks him up <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; vertical-align: super;">4 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. "By the time HI is lucky enough to be picked up by Ed he was being chased by the police, a pack of dogs, and a store owner through a store, a house, down alleys, and across backyards" <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; vertical-align: super;">5 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. This scene was editing intensive and used intercutting to thread all these individual events together. The short choppy cuts between different shot and character matches the beat of the background music (comical banjo music). The Coen brothers decided to amplify the "ridiculousness" of this scene to make it comical instead of an intense-action scene. Normally when police and a shopkeeper with a gun is chasing the main character, it would be an intense scene. But in this film, Coen brothers choose to do otherwise.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another moment that was dramatically hilarious was Hi's dream of the bike rider: he sides around the desert shooting and destroying objects. The Coen Brothers choose to employ the <range type="comment" id="416380652_3">Kuleshov Effect </range id="416380652_3">in this scene to heighten the dramatic and comical effects. There was one specific cut between two shots where the biker jumps over the camera from the desert road and lands in town. "<range type="comment" id="416380652_4">This action is edited in such a way as to fool us into perceiving the jump and the landing as a single, continuous action taking place in a single, continuous space"</range id="416380652_4"> (242) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; vertical-align: super;">6 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. The impossibility of this cut did not make it seem unrealistic, i<range type="comment" id="416380652_5">n fact, acted as a plus because the audiences acknowledge that the character of the biker himself is an exaggeration.</range id="416380652_5">

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The film Raising Arizonaexemplifies Coen Brother's ability to create a believable artificial world and make the movie funny without losing its seriousness.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; vertical-align: super;">1.2.3 "Joel and Ethan Coen." //Senses of Cinema RSS//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/coens/ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; vertical-align: super;">4.5 "Coen Brothers." //Coen Brothers//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://www.wdog.com/sarah/coen_brothers.htm <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; vertical-align: super;">6 Barsam, Richard. //Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Films//. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.