Textual Analysis of 'Traction' (Rory Uphold, 2016) by Melissa Thomas

Traction

'Traction' directed by Rory Uphold

(22/08/2016)

Found on: Short of the Week

Watched on: Vimeo

Traction is about a man (Jake) and a woman (Andy) on their first date. They start telling jokes but then Jake tells a racist joke and Andy is not happy about it, deciding not to see him again. When they leave the restaurant they bump into a DJ trying to find directions and Andy assumes he is asking for money while Jake helps him.

It raises social issues about race and people’s internalized racism. Uphold stated that she wanted to “show two people with the best intentions falling short”. It is a social comment on how society is changing our beliefs on what is and isn’t acceptable. Uphold said that both characters needed to grow as both of their ideals were “falling short” of what is acceptable.

The tracking shot with diegetic restaurant ambient sound ending with the main characters in a two shot, laughing with happy facial expressions chatting about the food in the dialogue create, in terms of Todorov’s theory of classic narrative, a state of equilibrium.

The titles appear as the main characters appear in the frame during the state of equilibrium at the start of the short film. They are large and bold, taking up the entirety of the space beside the characters. This foreshadows the disruption and confrontation about to take place as the word "traction" means the grip or resistance from pulling something over a surface. This represents how the two characters have the best intentions to be progressive but still have a certain resistance which they can’t see until they are called out on it.

The camera is handheld at eye level and the cuts are fast-paced using sound bridges to represent the easy flow of conversation. There are also longer duration eye level two shots which emphasise their happy equilibrium.

Todorov's disruption stage occurs when the male character tells the racist joke. The silence that follows as she pulls a facial expression which expresses her discomfort. This awkward silence is an iconography of the comedy genre. The use of handheld camerawork becomes much more tripod based and the shot reverse shot cuts are now slower in pace to show how uncomfortable and serious their conversation has turned. 

The use of body language when Andy brushes her hair behind her ear and rolls her eyes, using wide eyes in her facial expressions to show her annoyance represents the confrontation from the dialogue. This is also shown when there is a cut to outside the restaurant and she dominates the frame, leaving Jake in a little shallow depth of field (he is clearly in frame but is more out of focus than she is).

The shot reverse shot sequence between the DJ and Andy has an over the shoulder medium close up at a high angle whilst the DJ is face on, composed with him centre of the frame, close up and from a low angle with a shallow depth of field. This shows that she isn't as progressive as she thought she was. It gives the DJ a certain power over her as he puts her back in her place by the dialogue "I'm not asking for money, I'm just letting that sink in".

The new equilibrium is established when the focus pull reveals more of the male character as he does a sassy gesture and has a very smug facial expression. It then cuts to a medium long two shot as he walks out of the frame, leaving Andy in the centre. She then huffs out a sigh as she raises her arm to show her disbelief. This body language represents the new equilibrium because it shows she acknowledges that she was in the wrong this time. 

There is a long silence, only filled with ambient sounds before she huffs out diegetically the word "shit" which is representative of the comedy genre because it shows an acknowledgement of the unexpected situation. This is the last piece of dialogue in the short film, which is simple compared to the serious conversation the characters were having inside the restaurant. It is not what the viewer is expecting the character to say which makes it comedic.

I personally liked how Traction has the twist near the end; I thought this was clever and effective at getting the message across. By the end, neither character is perfect and both are blind to their internalized racism. It makes the viewer more aware of the issue and might even cause further progression in society.