Semiotic Reading Of Cinematic Frame Essay Sample

In this particular cinematic frame, there are a variety of cultural and thematic ideas that are being conveyed. Here, a group of Hebrew people of various ages and socioeconomic backgrounds are waiting at a bus stop. The vast majority of the individuals are wearing yarmulkes, a traditional piece of Hebrew iconography and religious practice, and the sign on the bus station is in Hebrew. To that end, it can reasonably be concluded that the film takes place in a primarily Jewish country, somewhere where Hebrew is the official or dominant language. The setting is outside, and the bus stop itself is a large shack made of planks of wood; it looks somewhat shoddy, and gives the impression that the stop is located out in the country.
The clothing of all of the characters indicate a diverse and potentially contentious group of people. The young man on the right, seemingly the youngest of the group, is wearing a slick black suit, and is leaning against the edge of the stop, one leg propped up on its toes. He is dressed quite differently than the others, who wear various combinations of slacks, unbuttoned shirts without neckties, and blue jeans. This indicates that the young man is somewhat set apart from the rest of the group (presumably a family), and is potentially a city-dweller who is spending time with his lower-class family. The only ones sitting on the bench are the two women in the group, wearing traditional, frumpy and Hebrew-inspired clothing (knee-level floral print skirt, bonnet), with a young boy in overalls. These are the most vulnerable and innocent characters in the image; while the men in the group are standing, looking to their left to search for the bus, the women take care of the children.
No one in the group is talking to each other, save for the visible woman and the child, whom she has on her knee. This indicates that they are mother and son, while the other men of various ages are likely her family. The young man in the suit looks very casual and bored, indicating that he does not want much to do with the family, setting himself apart through posture and clothing. Next to him is the most working-class of the family, a man of mid 30s age who wears blue jeans and a toolbelt; he also has a backpack at his feet. He is likely the working man of the family. At center frame is a tall man, with his arms crossed and an impatient look on his face; he appears to be extremely impatient and aggressive with his behavior. Standing next to him is the oldest of the group, likely the family patriarch; his yarmulke sits on thinning hair, and he holds his blazer over his forearm with his hands joined, indicating patience and wisdom. Furthest to the left of frame is a portly man with a slightly larger, sillier-looking yarmulke; standing the furthest apart from the others, he might perhaps be the odder, more outcast in the family. From these postures, it is not unreasonable to infer that this is a family setting, with a diverse and contentious multigenerational set of conflicts that begrudgingly set them together on their own journey. No one is talking with one another, but they are stuck together, impatiently waiting for a bus to take them far away from each other and end the ordeal.