Schematic language in movies: an analytical approach

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the use of schematic language in recently produced dominantly
narrative feature films. More specifically, the aim is to observe its elements by using the classification
proposed by Aragão (2006), in which ten syntactic and semantic categories are defined, taking into account
design and cinema theories. Three graphic cinematographic configurations of three different movies were
chosen: the trajectory of a suicide in Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1999), the musical score of the last
concert in Tônica Dominante (Lina Chamie, 2000), and the scenario of Dogville (Lars Von Trier, 2003). In all
scenes, the schematic elements carry informational contents, that is, they are dominant factors for the
meaning of the graphic configuration. After the analysis, there follows some considerations regarding these
elements in the movies, aiming to establish links between the categories and also raise certain questions for
debate.