An Introduction to Film

PATTERNS 45

1

3

5

2

4

6

7

Breaking patterns for dramatic effectThe six

consecutive underwater shots that open Terrence Malick’s

The New World(2005) establish a pattern of tranquility and

affinity. Each shot conveys a harmonious fusion of

indigenous people and their natural environment. The

seventh shot rises from the blue waters to break the pattern

and thus cinematically signal the Virginia Company’s

intrusion into the Algonquin paradise. Everything has

suddenly changed: the light, the framing, the content, the

world.