Textual Analysis: Red Lights

This is my Textual Analysis of Red Lights (2012)


Red Lights is a film written and directed by Rodrigo Cortés, also famous for Buried and The Contestant. The film is a drama-mystery-thriller about following the rivalry between two people, and then one go mysteriously missing.




This is one of the first visual aspects of the film, to me it reminds me of a child making shadow-puppets on the wall, or the concept of being a puppet-master. This takes a creepy turn when contrasted the child-like anecdotes to the peep-hole like central image, surrounded by blackness.
Explaining to me, there is manipulation heavily at hand in this film.
The simplicity of the opening creates a rather interesting opening, especially as the letters randomly change in size for a frame or two, implying that something is going to change, something out of the normal is occurring, a malfunction or anomaly in the system.

This being the malfunction in names, the change in the system, the revolution.

The Red Lights then appear through a high paced scatter of the lights, white lights blur out and red lights appear, not knowing what the plot is about at this moment, I believe, as the film is called RED LIGHTS, it is an allusion to the Red Light District, notorious for prostitution and crime.
The white lights would be a representation of purity, women but at night, they change. It's an obscure interpretation but the film's plot or themes are all unknown right now.

White, blurred lights take over the screen for a brief few seconds, darkness is still overall taking over the screen but theres a few specs of light, specs of hope in this plot. This is ironic due to the name of the film being named red lights, which could back up my theory of anomalies, the normal would be these white lights that we are introduced to, red lights are the malfunctions.

 

 

It then cuts the sequence to an extreme close up of an eye (continuing the abnormality of the names of actors, etc), the focus on eyes and watching, could allude to judgment, always being watched, either the religious references of God being ever watchful, ever knowing, omniscient and the deliverer of judgment. Or, society and their judgment, similar to God, but society are fickle and could quickly decide to turn against someone, a celebrity or idol, with one news report.
The text is continuing to jitter, creating a psychological tone of the film, making the audience feel uncomfortable.
This could also explain the first picture, an eye-shaped hole. One person's perspective, unreliable, it could all link to one person and them witnessing something important that drives the plot forward.

The sequence then cuts to a woman being crucified, which fits into two theories of mine previously suggested, the desecration of women through the eyes of God, as crucifixions are primarily related to the Death of Jesus Christ and Red Light District being associated with prostitution, I conclude that the representation of women in this film will be biased to the protagonists views and perspective, whether they are a woman or not.
This women is also shown to be victimised, she is showed in the colour white inferring innocence and purity, it would be different if she was wearing red as they are the two colours highlighted in this opening so far, one showing normality and the other prostitution. The innocent woman getting executed could be a representation of the fickleness of society and their tendency to turn on the innocent, vilifying the community.