Nemesis Analysis

Title; NEMESIS – Part Four, pg 14

Creators; Mark Miller, Writer

                  Steve McNiven, Artist

Editor; Nick Lowe

Characters; Chief Blake Morrow, the Chief’s wife Peggy Morrow, Nemesis, and the President of America

In this scene the character of Nemesis wants Chief Morrow to choose between His wife and the President – they are both wired with explosives, and he has the option of saving one of them. As he has a history of dedication to duty, often at the expense of family life, his loyalty to both is questioned. Nemesis is forcing him to decide which is more important. He was given 30 seconds to decide and the scene starts with only 5 seconds left. Peggy says his name in the opening frame. The addition of a question mark leads us to believe she doesn’t know whether or not He will save her. Having the fate of ‘The President’ or his wife in his hands leaves him with an impossible choice. Although Nemesis has the higher status the President, not Morrow, turns this around. By confronting Nemesis and ordering Morrow to pick Him (to die), he takes control away from Nemesis – which gives the President the higher status. It is also noticeable that the President is portrayed as a tough, ex-military, no-nonsense character, sending out the message that even American Presidents don’t take any bull and will gladly sacrifice themselves for their country.

With regards to the costumes, Nemesis would appear to be some sort of super hero, though he is actually a super villain. The fact that the costume is white adds to this deception as we are conditioned to believe that white is associated with purity and goodness, villains and evil characters tend to be typecast wearing black. With all the other cast members dressed in regular clothing, Nemesis’ character is highlighted as being different.

The setting is the Oval office, in the White House, Washington D.C. This is where the President, America’s most powerful man, makes decisions that run one of the world’s most powerful countries. The very core of American Government it should be an impregnable fortress, the ultimate safe haven for an American President. And yet Nemesis, having previously kidnapped the President, manages to ‘hide’ him under everyone’s nose, highlighting his power and status. With regards to the timeline the story runs chronologically (mostly), and therefore this scene is suitably placed.

Mise-en-scene; the scene is set indoors, at night, and so is lit by regular electric light, nothing dramatic or atmospheric. In the close-up shots the backgrounds are plain blocks of colour, stripped of any detail that might distract from the focal points – the characters eyes. The high-angle close-up in the sixth frame has an orange background which is a bit strange, as nothing shown previously indicates any orange plane behind Nemesis. The overhead shot establishes their positioning as the President makes his heroic sacrificing gesture, we see that he has placed himself between Nemesis and the others, as if shielding them. This is also the only frame that contains atmospheric lighting by including a shadowed area behind the action. This highlights the characters, as the centre of activity, and also indicates their isolation.

Camera work; Apart from one overhead establishing shot, of the room and characters, most of the shots are close-ups. Of the six frames, three of them focus on the eyes, highlighting the intensity of the situation. There is a close-up of the President and Peggy’s heads, which singles them out - the potential targets. The close-up of the gun against the Presidents head in the fifth frame is very effective at highlighting both his closeness to death and his heroism. None of the shots are from a characters viewpoint though there is one over-shoulder angle of Nemesis from behind Peggy, allowing the use of a silhouette (her). The only wide-angle shot is the overhead shot that establishes the setting – the room and it’s occupants.