Art Direction as World-Building: Between the England of the Eighteenth Century and the Dystopian Future of "Mad Max"
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51473/rcmos.v1i2.2025.1398Keywords:
Art direction; Mise-en-scène; Verisimilitude; Costume; Cinema.Abstract
This article analyzes art direction as a narrative strategy in cinema, focusing on its role in constructing diegetic worlds across historical and dystopian settings. Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice (2005) demonstrate the importance of costume, set design, and props in establishing historical verisimilitude and social hierarchy, while George Miller’s Mad Max (1979) explores the creation of a pre-apocalyptic universe through stylized objects, vehicles, and landscapes. By drawing on theoretical approaches to mise-en-scène and film production design (Xavier, Bordwell, Sobchack, Higson), the study argues that art direction transcends visual support, functioning as a central element of cinematic dramaturgy.
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References
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BORDWELL, D; THOMPSON, K. Film Art: An Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997.
HIGSON, Andrew. English Heritage, English Cinema: Costume Drama Since 1980. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198182931.001.0001
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Copyright (c) 2025 Alexandra Castro Conceição (Autor)
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