“I am selfish. I am brave.” This is what Beatrice said to herself when she came to the realization that she isn't who she thought she was. In the movie Divergent Beatice was born into the faction called Abnegation, meaning the selfless. She always knew she was different, but it wasn't until she turned sixteen when she realized where she actually belonged, Dauntless, the faction for the brave. Throughout the process of deciding which faction she belonged in, Beatrice (later known as Tris) goes through many emotions. The movie Divergent uses costuming, lighting, and camera angles and distance to show the emotions of all of the characters and portray who they are. Divergent is a movie that is about the world after a huge war that kills of a majority of the population. In order to make these people survive, they are broken into factions which are cities of people who have the same characteristics and jobs. You are born into a faction, but when you are sixteen you can decide where you want to be based on a test that you take. Beatrice takes this test and the results come back divergent, meaning she has a little bit of all the factions inside of her. This rarely happens. The movie is about Beatrice finding out where she belongs. The costuming in this movie is most likely one of the most important elements. Each of the five factions has their own style that portrays who they are and helps the viewer decipher between factions. In this scene, it shows all of the factions and portrays them by their costumes. Beatrice was born into the faction called Abnegation, the faction of the selfless. They aren't aloud to think of themselves, worry about their appearance, or even look in the mirror. This reflects in their costumes. They are all dressed in gray, resembling that they are plain, and don’t draw attention to themselves. They are very covered and show little, to no sin. The cut is very loose, again so they don’t draw attention to themselves. The texture is mostly soft, and thick materials. After Beatrice chooses to leave Abnegation, she goes to Dauntless, the faction of the brave. Their costumes are the exact opposite. They are all in black clothing, with very tight and revealing clothes. They are very active so the clothes are flexible. Their clothes are edgy, showing their personality. Another faction is erudite, the faction of the smart. They were all blue showing they are intelligent. All the clothes have very sharp lines, are very stiff, and look professional. Candor, the faction of the honest, wears simply black and white clothes. This resembles that they see a clear difference between the truth and lies. Lastly, there is the faction Amity, the peaceful. Their clothes are very practical because they work all day. They are all earth tones to show that they care for the earth. They are made of organic materials such as cotton. In this scene factions are very important, and their costumes resemble their personality. The lighting in this scene also resembles the characters personality. In the beginning of the scene, Beatrice and her brother are talking to the leader of the all the factions. There is very prominent side lighting in this shot. All of the characters turn into completely different people later in the movie. The side lighting emphasizes their change. Beatrice, who was once selfless and timid, turns into a new person, Tris. A brave, selfish, and edgy Dauntless girl. This side lighting is foreshadowing on her transformation. Her brother, Caleb also changed factions. He was selfless, now he dedicated his life to being smart. He also had side lighting on his face thought this scene. And lastly, the leader of the factions also has side lighting on her face. When she is in public, she seems smart, loyal, and kind. But she is actually evil. But she never lets the public know. Later in the movie, she brainwashed all the dauntless to kill all of those in abnegation and she never took the blame. The side lighting lets the viewers know that there is another side to her. There is also high-key lighting throughout the scene. This shows that the teenagers are happy about breaking free of their old factions and choosing the life that they want. These lighting techniques stay the same throughout this scene because it is all in the same place, and all the characters remain the same. The camera angles and camera distance create an effect that nothing else can.
In the beginning, when Beatrice walks in, there is a pan shot to show the amount of people in the room. this builds pressure because there are so many people watching her. After this, they use over the shoulder shots, to show the dialogue between Beatrice, her brother and the leader. When Beatrice is choosing which bowl to put her blood in to resemble her choice of faction, there is a high angle. I believe that this is so Beatrice looks weak and vulnerable. Beatrice is scared and put on the spot. This high angle shot also builds tension. Also, when beatrice is chosen which bowl, there is a low angle. This shows the bowls in the foreground and Beatrice in the back. The focus changes from the bowls to Beatrice, showing that she is still making up her mind. There are multiple points in this scene when the extreme close-up is used These shots are used to focus on a small, yet meaningful thing in the scene. The angle of destiny is also used for a short period of time, to show that Beatrice is going to change, right now. This is the turning point in her life. All of these camera angles and distances reflect on the main idea and themes in the movie. Overall, the movie Divergent uses costuming, lighting, and camera angles and distance to show the feelings of all of the characters and signify who they are. Beatrice is going through a big change in her life in this scene and all of these cinematic elements help show the change she is going through and the emotions she has while she is going through this. Imagine having one decision in your life affecting the rest of your future, this was what this scene was portraying.