Carmen Jones

What does it look like?

Carmen Jones as a sequence is rather simple in the sense of it being text of who wrote the music, who is starring in it, director and producer, etc. over a red flame for the whole minute and a half the sequence lasts. Barring that, not much else happens in the sequence.

Why does it look this way?

The film was made in 1954, and at that time, graphical software was non-existent and sequences had to be made by hand or by using film and film reels. So, for being extremely limited in what could be done in the sense of a graphical perspective, the sequence is simple, and effective and the flame is obviously symbolic and allows for the audience to come up with their own preconceptions before seeing the film.

Carmen Jones is about a a woman called, Carmen Jones who is arrested for getting into a fight with another worker who reported her late to work in the factory, and she is then transported by jeep to prison by a solider. The whole catalyst that pushes the film into its prime, is the build up of Carmen trying to seduce and make advances onto the soldier so she can flee her prison sentence. The fire on the sequence has the connotations of a fiery passion, a hot and heavy romance that can only be described as a flame.

Is it affective?

The sequence is affective due to its simplicity of the single flame burning. The flame itself tells the audience all they need to know and with the connotations behind a burning flame, they will know of the reason behind it: a heated romance.