Textual Analysis: One-Minute Time Machine (2014)

The mise-en-scene of a short film is crucial as it determines the actuality of the product. Certain iconography is used to depict a specific sub-genre of the short film. As Barry Keith Grant theorised, these definitive categories allow audiences to identify and recognise them by using familiar and detectable characteristics. This is clear in ‘One-Minute Time Machine’ (2014). The short film is classified as a romantic comedy as it uses feminine and masculine costumes to portray the ideal male and female. The female appears to be classier than the male, yet her low-cut blouse conforms to Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze, making the character secretly susceptible to the male’s dominance and lead as he flirts with her. This is also similar to the theory of Berger - ‘men look, women appear’. He speculates that women are present in media solely for the objectification of men.