International Journal of Arts and Humanities (IJAH)

Film is an essential form of entertainment. Unlike the written text, whose critical interpretation is a part of any school curriculum, the film audience is often unable to decode the visual text critically. Unaware of an underlying subtext, the director of a film can exert different levels of influence in order to manipulate the outcome. The film “The Green Prince” comes labeled as a documentary with its built-in trust factor of cinematographic genre conventions. A didactically arranged narrative, the use of color tints and clever camera angles, subtle editing devices that influence the pace of the otherwise slow interview process, as well as monochromatic color palettes and make-up create a political subtext. Sounds, apparently casually recorded, are in studio produced pre-recordings, and crucial scenes are accompanied by mood-altering music selections. Carefully staged and selected scenes develop an opinion that is critical of Israel, while creating a more positive visual response towards Hamas. The director, Nadav Schirman, achieves this goal by reducing political complexities to personal stories. This study will decode the different texts of the film by combining a visual analysis of the image with the critical interpretation of the sounds.