Slap

Slap is a short film directed by Nick Rowland about Connor, a teenage boxer who deals with his secret of cross-dressing.

Masculinity is a very common theme portrayed and emphasised within the film.  Conor is a boxer, which is a portrayal of the stereotypical idea of masculinity. The mise-en-scene around him displays the feeling of what men should be interested in and hint how they should behave. For example, Conor's room is very blue, a masculine colour, and he has picture's of the objectified female body surrounding his room, and more importantly covering up his make-up. The fact that this newspaper is covering up his make-up, signifies how he is covering up his secret of using make-up with overemphasising his masculinity. The calendar on the fridge also shows fire fighter outfits, with the caption, 'Be a good guy', suggesting that to be a good guy is to be brave and strong, like a fire fighter. 

Mirrors are also a common motif used constantly throughout the film. Most obviously, Conor uses a mirror to put on his make-up, therefore changing his identity. It can be seen then that the mirror and reflections portray his separate identities, and although they are close and look similar, they can never join together and meet. The fragmented mirror in the third photo foreshadows this collision of his worlds, as the mirror is smashed and his face becomes distorted. The final shot of him shirtless looking at himself contrasts with how we have previously seen him in the mirror, as he is now portraying pure masculinity, compared to the feminine make-up he was wearing before, further emphasising the different sides of him.

Before Conor even sees anyone, we see the combining and contrast of his two personalities, when the scene cross cuts between him boxing in the dress and him dancing. Conventionally, these two ideas contrast massively, and could potentially even be seen as comical, however the underlying theme is sadness, as we feel sorry for Conor not being able to express his true feelings. 

Much of the film does not rely on dialogue, and this is shown when Conor beats up the bullies. After seeing Conor, no words are spoken and yet we understand his shock and confusion purely through his eye movement and facial expressions. The lack of dialogue is much more powerful than if dialogue is present, as we are left to only imagine what he could say, and it keeps us intrigued in viewing his reaction. Match on action is also used between both of them, however Conor displays a worried facial expression, whereas the bully displays a shocked expression, and we gain an insight into how the two are both feeling in that moment.

Lighting is used here to express his two sides, as we see his shadow on the draw, and in this scene his face is also only half lit, which creates an effect while also using naturalistic lighting

The boxing creates a link to the visual motif of hands, as he uses his hands constantly to box, either protecting himself or attacking others. 

The theme of isolation starts almost immediately as he wears this outfit in public. He appears distant and alone on the road, separate from the people inside their own property.

Colours become heightened and saturated in the party, as if emotions and feelings are going to be saturated in the scene. The theme of isolation is further pushed here, as he is never viewed within the same frame of anyone, and they appear to be watching him and objectifying him, like a woman. 

The slo-mo of them laughing is a point of realisation for Connor, and we view a close-up of his realisation and reactions, while trying to stay in character of his outfit being a joke.

The motif of masculinity is openly portrayed here with the condom dispenser saying 'stud', which also contrasts to Conor in his dress and looking down, as if he is ashamed of himself.

the visual motif of hands are emphasised here as the characters hug and fight each other, placing their hands all over their bodies. This movement attempts to create connections between them and displays how they are feeling. For example, we see Archie's hands moving around Connor's shoulders when they are hugging, as he is attempting to console him, and we see Connor grabbing his girlfriend when she was hitting him. The motif of hands also portray a double meaning, as Connor's main use of his hands are to box, portraying masculinity, whereas he also uses them to put on make-up, displaying femininity.

In the confrontation scene, dialogue is a main focal point, as her question about the lipstick, 'Is this mine?' seems to question the spectator. She has just found out something so hidden and shocking about someone she thought she knew that she cannot comprehend all the information, and so focuses on one particular detail. The mise-en-scene also works with her emotions here as the red of her outfit signifies her anger and shock, and the balloons are lower down compared to when they were higher in the air at the start of the party, signifying the death of his secret. 

the match-on-action used here evokes the anger that he feels as he is walking aggressively outside and into the boxing arena . His anger is portrayed by his performance, as he doesn't say a word and yet his facial expressions and punching displays his pure anger.