Extended Essay

Extended Essay

Session: May 2014

Subject: Film Studies

The Hurt Locker Zero Dark Thirty

How do Kathryn Bigelow’s films The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty use language to portray the life of combatants in a battle?

Words – 4064

Abstract

My research question for my extended essay is “How do Kathryn Bigelow’s films The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty use language to portray the life of combatants in a battle?” To develop this, I had to critically analyze both the films and understand why the scenes are portrayed in the way they are. I decided to examine a few of the most crucial scenes that have a direct link to the director’s style of filmography and the use of language to portray the attitude of characters. I also watched interviews of Kathryn Bigelow on the release of The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty and the specialty of each character along with their evolution. In both the films, she has made use of extremely illustrative language as suggested by the writer, Mark Boal. Boal had actually visited the locations before beginning initial shooting through which he earned the idea of not censoring the dialogues between the army personnel, thus providing the direct account of all the activities. After having done this, I concluded that Bigelow has made remarkable use of language to depict the unpredictable struggle of fighters on a battlefield. Additionally, I compared a few similar scenes from both the movies to underscore the exhilarating atmosphere created. I related their shots, dialogues, body language and facial expressions. Moreover, I understood the political meaning of each scene and how it can have a significant impact on audience’s critics towards the message of the film.

Word Count – 238

Index

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