Cowboy Bebop - Scene Analyisis

Characters

Only one of the main cast makes an appearance in this scene and that's Jet. He doesn't change much other than we get a little bit of back story on him and find out he was once a cop and quit because of all the corruption in the force. Other than that we meet Bob a cop and friend of Jets. There's also the characters that appear in the movie the pair are watching. There is something a little strange about the way they are drawn. Their eyes seem a little too close together. I think this might be because they are a Japanese portrayal of American people and a slight dig. 

Setting

The setting does little to push the story forward although it does inform the scene. The movie that's playing in the drive in theater is an old western involving cowboys and sheriffs There's the obvious connection to the title in "cowboys" as well as the sheriff and Jet are linked. By the end the sheriff has quit in the film just as Jet is explaining that he once quit the force as well. The white glow from the movie screen gives Jet and Bob a white glow as if it were a flash back. And Jet is slightly reminiscent about his days as a cop.

Mise-en-scene

As I have said the cowboy western film on screen reflects Jet's back story. Also we again see influences from 90s American cop films in the pair chatting drinking coffee. A beverage that has become associated with American police. 

The panning shots of the area seem to be showing the huge variation in modes of transport that have arrived in 2071. There can be seen cars with wheel and what look like space ships/ rockets.

Camera

1. long/ over the shoulder
2. close up
3. close up
4. close up
5. group close up
6. close up from low angle
7. over shoulder
8. explanation
9. pan and zoom
10. establishing
11. establishing
12. over the shoulder
13. head shot
14. over the shoulder

I think these shots were chosen to slow the film down and allow the viewer to concentrate on what Jet and Bob are talking about.

Sound

Through out the film music is evocative of 90s American movies. But the music kind of seems to play along with what's happening on screen as well as what Jet and Bob are talking about. There's a kind of "Dun dun duuuuun" rise when Bob reveals there's something more sinister about the tankard explosion. 

At one point we can also hear cheering but it is ambiguous in whether it's coming from the crowd in the film or the crowd in the theater. I think it's coming from the crowd in the theater. It's just that little bit more clear than the sound from the film. It kind of reminds me of hearing about old movie theaters when the the crowd would interact more with the movie. Cheering on the good guy and hissing at the bad guy.