Tension In The Film 'Mississippi Burning'

In the film 'Mississippi Burning' directed by Alan Parker, there are many scenes that build up tension. One of which is the interrogation scene, where the FBI use a black man to threaten the mayor of Mississippi into giving evidence. It’s a scene where Parker uses lighting and sound techniques to build tension, making the watcher unsure of what happens next. The lighting techniques create a spooky atmosphere, whereas the sound techniques uses quietness, a different way to build up tension. This scene of 'Mississippi Burning' leaves a twist in the movie as you are left feeling frightened but also relieved.
At the beginning of the interrogation scene, the mayor having been captured by the FBI, is sitting down in a chair with his hands tied behind his back and tape covering his mouth. A table separates the distance between …show more content…
For example, at first all you can hear are crickets in the background. The sound of crickets refers to the point that it is night time, which creates tension alone. As at night, in darkness, you suspect that a bad thing is more likely to happen. The sounds of the crickets are carried out through the whole scene. Another sound technique that Parker has used is the tone of the black man's voice. When the black man speaks he has a low voice, but it is not calm, it is threatening. His voice creates tension in a different way than usual. It makes you feel clueless, but also very aware that something is about to happen. As you think that something will happen, but you cannot be sure. Its different compared to if you were to have tension building music behind this scene, as that would make you sure that something bad is to happen. Another effect that the mans low voice creates is that it makes every loud noise more frightening, making you jump, as it is unexpected. These sound techniques help to create tension in this scene, but there are other techniques used as