Katie Blauvelt
Blog #2
As a piece of linear media, I chose a scene from the Godfather that exemplifies a very compelling example of parallel editing.
http://www.spike.com/video/godfather-baptism/2724589
The scene depicts a baby’s baptism, while at the same time numerous men are being brutally murdered. The juxtaposition of actions occurring is extremely ironic for the viewer, giving it that much more significance. The contradiction of such an innocent baby in such a holy environment accompanied with such evil and corrupt murders brings about an extremely dramatic effect. The combination of music and baby’s crying successfully creates a tense atmosphere, which is accompanied by quick flashes of the murderers preparing for their days. Even more interesting, as the scene progresses, the baby and murderers become more intertwined, as you hear the babies cries and see the murderers walking to their victims. The climax of the scene is constructed so in sink with the organ/church music, bringing yet another ironic tone to the scene. As each murder shoots his gun, the organs emphasize each bang. The constant switching back and forth from the church, where michael is announcing his faith in god, to the murders that michael has ordered, emphasizes further the hypocrisy of Michael's character. Each shot was specifically planned to intensify this contradiction. The intent of the entire scene is to evoke a dramatic feeling from the audience, and I believe this was done extremely well due to the cut of each shot carefully matched with the music, and contradiction of the two scenes occurring simultaneously.
