We need to talk about Kevin

Audio
1. creepy music which is nursery rhyme like
  1. baby crying, basketball bouncing (repetition)
  2. 'sweet little boy' repeated (becomes less believable)
    1. Juxtaposition of audio with images
  3. Buddy Holly- 'Everyday' song
2. contrapuntal sound (the sounds we hear and images we see don't always match) this creates uneven/disjointed atmosphere
  1. non diegetic sound, lots of cheery old fashioned songs
    1. after Kevin has killed the students in gym he hears a clapping cheering sound in his head which is non diegetic
3. often a lot of silence or minimal sound
4. extracts of the phonecall between eva and franklin about shooting- enigmas
5. ironic songs
Technical codes
1. Special shots- almost split screen
  1. Juxtaposition of distraught mother vs smiling kevin
Narrative
1. Initial romance at start (pregnancy, awkward child, arguing with mum
2. filial conflict (parent and child conflict)
3. Todorov Equil and dis Equil
Genre Signifiers
1. Horror- nursery rhymes
  1. lots of red, initially meaning love but turns to blood
2. romantic iconography
  1. Dancing in the rain
3. Horror ( halloween and eye Close ups/darkness/shadows
Aud response
1. festival awards Tilda Swinton/ John C Reilly/Lynne Ramsay
2. Preferred reading- taboo subject, open narrative, Eva shows forgiveness, they view kevin negatively
3. oppositional reading- positioned to dislike Eva and feel that she is unreliable. they feel sympathy for Kevin as she didn't embrace pregnancy and birth

Resource summary

	Created by Olivia Smith about 7 years ago