In terms of media representation is how the media break down something that is already there and present it to us in a way they want. The people who create representations are producers and the people who choose to present us with this are Gatekeepers.
Gatekeepers choose what the audience read, hear or see.
The Male Gaze (Laura Mulvey) - Woman in the media are there just to get male attention either as objects or as unreachable Madonnas.
The Bechdel Test - It has at least two named women in it, who have a conversation with each other, about something besides a man.
The Dyer Theory (Richard Dyer) - What you are seen as you are treated as and you treat others the same way.
What/who is being represented and how?
I man by himself, alone even when surrounded by people, driving to his apartment, showing his isolation by big birds eye view shots following the driver in his car among many other cars surrounding him, showing more to his isolation that his car stands out to the watcher more than anyone else's, this could also represent that he is not connected to anyone else adding more to the idea of loneliness of this character.
Once the man is walking to the elevator in a building a girl (maybe fetishistic - an unreachable Madonna from Laura Mulveys The Male Gaze) comes out of the elevator and the man says nothing to her and the camera cuts to a shot that looks like what the man would see from the elevator of the girl walking away this could represent that this girl will have something to do with this man within his story. Comes out of the elevator as a silhouette , representing he is a shadow of the person he could be for reasons that the audience do not know making him mysterious and intriguing and alone again, once at his apartment man goes straight out of his apartment to drive again seen by picking up keys again also only having one duffle bag the man packs light showing he is even more of a loner, maybe all he cares about his his car as he drives there gets there and then just goes out to drive again.
Dyer Theory- What we are seen as we are treated as and we treat others
The driver is seen as a loner or a stand off is type so he is treated as a loner like the girl doesn't say hello to him when she walks past him she doesn't say hello to him and he doesn't say hello either so he treats other people like they are like him to. This all works with the Dyers Theory.
Foreground & Background
The foreground of the shot shows the man very neutral faced, emotionless and with a pick in his mouth this could represent him filling his time with a habit like chewing on a toothpick. The mid ground or what could be said to be the background because further than his hand everything is so blurred it is not worth talking about apart from showing that he is driving on the street. So in the background there is his hand which has a glove on it, a driving glove representing that he takes driving seriously like it is a major part his life this could be interpreted that driving and him are a connection and a major part to the story.
There is an absence of anything that defines the character in this shot and all the shots, it just the character and his car and his back. In this shot the overwhelming thing that defines his character is how alone he is, by the foreground there is just the one bag that the man brought with him and then in the background there is the man both foreground and background define the loneliness of the man.
I think the absence of things filling the grounds of the shot makes the structure of the film clear that there is just what there is, here is his bag he the character doesn't have much, he drives the story will be to do with driving, there is a girl shown in the first 3 minutes of the film so she will be to do with the man character and the films story.
Making sense of the representation (Mulvey and Barthes)
The woman seen could be a reference to Mulveys thoughts of all women either being whores or objects for the men to play with or an unreachable Madonna, this would work with he story that the girl is either of the two to make a goal for the male character.
The man in terms of Barthes Mytholigical way of representation the man could be the broken hero the Byronic Hero, the protagonist with a broken and hidden past just like a fairytale and he is only represented by what defines him, nothing more, like a fairytale character.
The Semiotics and their connotations
The tooth pic - a habit to fill time, maybe use to be a smoker, a comfort habit like sucking a thumb.
The Driving Gloves - Likes to drive, maybe does it professionally or for a living.
The scorpion jacket - The golden scorpion on the back of the mans jacket could mean he could be quite reserved under an armor but if aggravated he is wild and packs a punch.
The duffle bag - The man travels light, doesn't have anything to hold onto.
From semiotics what is the overall direction of the film?
The man in his comfortable lonely state could be brought out of his comfortable state to do with his driving or with the woman that was seen. The film will follow the male protagonist along with his story entwining with driving and the girl.
How have I received the meaning of the film
I believe I have received the meaning of the film, just from the opening scene, through preferred reading I have seen it and interpreted how I think the creator wants the audience to. The opening scene is quite straight forward in it portrayal of its characters and how they are meant to be interpreted, by the man being seen alone for practically all of the opening scene I get the sense that his character is one of alone-ness and not many emotional characters, a shut off person comfortable with himself, i think the creator wanted this to be how his main protagonist to be portrayed.
