Little Women Opening

 Little women

The opening scene of Little Women starts off with a quote from Louisa May Alcott with no accompanying sound diegetic or non diegetic letting the audience just sit with her words with respect as this movie is about her work and what inspired it. Louisa May Alcott is the writer of little women which is essentially a diary of Alcott's life and is being portrayed in the film by the character Jo who soon follows to be introduced in a significant way as all that is revealed is her silhouette against the bright light coming through the tinted door in front of her, contrasting the low intensity lighting she is in currently, having the connotation of a brighter future that is being held through that door. The use of her silhouette just being displayed is a very interesting way to introduce the character and create a sense of her femininity as all we know about her for sure is she is a woman, portraying how society sees her - just a woman. From inside the room that has not been revealed to us yet we can hear the diegetic masculine dialogue suggesting a crowded and busy area she is walking into. 

This chaotic, overlaying and unintelligible dialogue coming from inside is giving a strong contrast with the female (Jo) character and the diegetic, rhythmic and quiet sound of her breathing, her steading her breath giving the connotation to the audience that this is an important moment to her and she wants to remain calm and be taken seriously. The camera stays steady on her so the only thing shaky about this scene is her breath displaying how she is preparing herself for this, she lifts her head after breathing to present this sense of the confidence she holds in what she is doing.

This moment could also be seen as her trying to remain cool as she cannot believe this is real- this is her dream and is finally in fruition. The atmosphere this present to the audience is one that could possibly be presenting a very strong and biographical, feminist piece of film and it could follow this dream Jo has the success she gains regardless to her gender. This theme of uplifting women would draw in a majority audience of women as it is something they can relate to and find connection in. The genre this presents is very much drama as it is using quite a serious idea and projecting that through one woman's journey and how it is reflected in the future.

The next key moment in this opening is the female character's entrance into the office-like setting. The impression that this is an office is first set in by the men working arounds her and also the pieces of paper/writing scattered around the place. The grey lighting from the outside and the candles suggest the time that this is set(old) and also the costume of those around her: the men in fine suits and some with hats which would draw in period drama lovers.

There is a tracking shot that follows our leading lady who we have not seen the face yet but already have a sense of the character, we see her with messy done up hair in a very messy way which would be subverting the expectation of women at this time and stereotypes in general. The tracking shot of her purposeful walk full of eagerness shows that she is there for a very specific reason as the audience we do not know why that is - does she work here? Does she have a meeting? Is she here to confront someone?.The diegetic dialogue of the men talking still follows the shot implying how out of place she seems in this male dominated work-space as she is the only woman in sight, none of the men even take notice in her presence once again showing the status women were held to at this point.

She approaches a man we as the audience now understand she is here to meet and he is presented with a sense of high authority as his feet are up on his desk, he's smoking a cigar and reading the newspaper so not doing much work but still having all the power which is a key reference to how power was much easier gain by men at that time (if you were a man you are born with that power and so you believe you deserve it). This unprofessional vibe that follows him also is shown in the way that he addresses our character or lacks thereof  when she is speaking (to which we can place her accent as American) in a professional and respectful tone he does not even look up from his paper, this very much is a man vs women reflection on society as he doesn't even acknowledge her presence. After she makes him aware of her he seems very uninterested by looking her up and down and not really giving much of a response to anything and this uninterested even bored energy he carries about is accentuated by the low intensity and bleak lighting in the office. The only thing that creates a sense of life in the office is the background diegetic dialogue and the brightness of the women. We also gain the knowledge that he is a figure with power in the office, suggesting how he has the authority and audacity that he does in the office.

The next moment that follows I would see as quite key as it reveals a lot about the characters narrative and what possible outcomes can follow, as this moment holds the business man we were introduced to previously and the woman that is clearly the lead having a discussion about her work. It is revealed to the audience that our main character is a writer through many ways the first being her diegetic dialogue of her talking about how one of her “friends” is a writer and this is clearly a coverup for her as we understand it's her work. Her work is also in a satchel which she is constantly holding very close to her suggesting the significance and privacy that comes with her work, her work is a part of her. Another key moment that gives away the characters writing passion would be the close up/signifier shot of her hands which are displayed to be covered in lead, she is also fidgeting with her hands suggesting she has never done this before and wants her work to be approved. The lighting supporting this moment is very dim except for a little candle light on the side of Jo representing the hope that she carries for her future compared to the darkness in the office with the connotation of drained and capitalised creativity. The business trade that take place occurs in two shots that focus on the passing of the writing from Jo to the man and the passing of money from the man to Jo and the isolation of these separate shot show the significance of this moment not only in general with a woman selling her art but also with it being important to Jo setting up a good opening for her future in the industry and how she will grow.

 

The last part of this opening is a huge contrast to the entire rest of it as it follows a linear tracking shot of Jo just running down the street with joy implying that she sold the story and this is a huge moment for her and her story.All civility that she held when she was making a deal with the man is lost as as soon as his scene starts non-diegetic uplifting soundtrack is played and she screams ‘yes’ which the diegetic sound of horses feet and people walking around her are creating a immersive presence. her running is displayed in many ways, one shot tracking her feet, one with just her face but there is a very interesting shot where it is filming her

from ahead and it shows her running against and passed a whole crowded creating a huge sense of freedom and relief and also that she is going against the tide, of what is expected from her. These tracking shots are not stable, they are shaky but that suits the scene well as it shows her laughing as she is running and this sense of composure is replaced with chaos and the camera influences that highly. Also the shot duration of this moment accentuates the importance and joy that she is feeling as well and it doesn't drag on because of

he change of camera angle also the shot is slowed down in part to give the scene more life successfully. Over all this running shot creates an unmatched sense of freedom for the character regardless of her gender. The opening ends with the title being the book cover of the original little women hinting towards the fact that this is just the beginning of the story or even before the beginning of the story. I believe that this is a beautiful opening scene as it holds so much contrast and features so many bleak atmospheres it still is driven with a youthful outlook thanks to the main character who will drive the movie no doubt so it is encouraging the audience that there will be more to come as its just the beginning and also with the book already having a loyal audience this will encourage them to follow the character even more.