Page 51 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

40 • Sport, Media and Society

significance to both. The position of materials within the frame carries connotations
of power and importance. Giannetti (2005) describes the mise en scène of a scene in
Bend It Like Beckham (2002). The scene takes place in the bedroom of the central
character, Nagra, a British Asian young woman passionate about playing soccer.

Nagra is positioned on the floor at the end of her bed. The sloping ceiling, walls and
door of the room are covered with David Beckham paraphernalia, including a replica
Manchester United football shirt, posters and cut-out images. Nagra is looking up at
a large, black and white poster of David Beckham’s face. The position of the poster
at the top of the frame evokes power befitting Beckham’s hero status within global

soccer culture. The slant of the wall brings the image into an intimate relationship
with the character of Nagra. She is depicted as a supplicant at a shrine to football.
Costume invariably plays a role within sport movies since sporting action re-
quires particular types of clothing. Costumes can evoke a range of associations such
as historical era, professionalism, class, gender and membership in subcultures. In
Field of Dreams, the costume of Shoeless Joe Jackson immediately locates him as

a historical figure transplanted into the present. The uniforms of the female players
in A League of Their Own (1992) are part of the league’s attempt to ensure that they
display appropriate femininity by wearing skirts instead of more traditional baseball
uniforms. The boxer Rocky Balboa’s appearance in an oversized maroon robe with
gold edging and an advertisement for a meat-packing company helps construct him
as a sympathetic fi gure in Rocky (1976). Rocky’s poor clothes contrast sharply with
the flamboyant, tailored costume of his competitor, Apollo Creed. The use of the

Stars and Stripes motif in Creed’s attire, in its signification of old-fashioned Ameri-

can values, builds tension as his character sacrifi ces sporting ideals in favour of en-
tertainment and an easy victory.

Case Study: Raging Bull—Feeling the Fight

Raging Bull is a powerful film of the life of the boxer Jake La Motta. La Motta’s

self-destructive career is narrated through fight scenes interwoven with scenes from
his domestic life, often providing striking contrasts. During the film the image and

sound of the fight scenes convey La Motta’s state of mind and show how the vari-

ous signifying systems can work together in the film to render the experience of the

fighter. If we consider the three scenes featuring fights between Jake La Motta and

Sugar Ray Robinson at different points during La Motta’s career, we can see how
different codes of camera, lighting, sound, mise en scène and editing can combine to
create different impressions from superficially similar events. In particular, the use

of sound during these scenes is central to marking changes in La Motta’s mindset
and fortunes, while also creating a sense of continuity throughout the film. Yet, while

sound is important, no music is used in the fight scenes. Instead, the sounds of the

ring are given preeminence. A boxer in the midst of action will experience sound