Parsons W.

In his film W., Oliver Stone is trying to create an impartial, sympathetic view of the 43^rd President of the United States. Many have argued whether or not Stone achieved his goal. Whichever way a critic sways however, it is apparent that Stone tried to use mise-en-scene in individual scenes to produce a specific perspective on the bizarre life of George W. Bush.

The scene I believe shows a lot about Stone’s opinion of Bush is in 1990 when Bush Junior and his father are walking across the Texas Rangers baseball stadium. The scene is one of the very few in the movie that takes place in spacious setting. Most of the movie is filmed inside tight quarters and rooms where the characters feel cramped and too large for the space. Though the baseball stadium is large, the shots of the two men are always tight; giving this uncomfortable feel to the conversation Bush Junior is having with his father. The close up shots are usually angled up from the right side of the screen, making Bush Senior seem larger than life, and Bush Junior simply cowers in the corner. These shots show perfectly how W. feels when he is with his father. Though W. has just helped his father win the 1988 Presidential Election, Bush Senior tells him to stick to owning baseball teams and stay out of politics. Even with all the things Bush Junior has done to prove his father wrong, he will still never life up to his father’s large image in his mind, that Stone so cleverly illustrates in this scene.

Another important aspect of this scene is lighting, and color. Bush Senior, towering above W. is positioned so that artificial lighting of the baseball field always keeps his face in the dark; his facial emotions are harder for the audience to interpret just like Bush Junior is never able to tell his father’s emotions until he talks. Bush Senior also always casts a shadow over Junior, just like in reality, W. is overshadowed by his father’s achievements most of his life. The colors of the stadium are a sharp blue, green and red, and yet the men walk in their dark suits. This gives them an ominous feel as the walk towards the camera and their voices carry throughout the auditorium.

Stone was trying to make a pointed argument about the psychological reason for George W. Bush’s actions in the Presidency. He relied heavily on the idea that W. was trying to live up to his family name and his father’s expectations, and in order to fully show his opinion Stone used mise-en-scene to make the audience really see and feel what W. went through.