Into the Spider-Verse Film Analysis: Visual Literacy & Foreshadowing (pt. 3)

I'm moving shot by shot through one of the earliest sequences in Into the Spiderverse to model individual shot/frame analysis and show you how easy it can be to analyze a film frame, simply by tapping into the skills you've learned in English class. If this is the first post you're coming across in the series, you might want to check out these two posts first to gather context and the build up to this point:

1. Miles & Jefferson Act 1 Relationship Film Analysis #1
2. Miles & Jefferson Act 1 Relationship Film Analysis #2

Before we analyze today's film frame, I want you to stop and think about some concepts first.

Model ELA Essential Questions:

What does it mean to stay?
What does it mean to go?
Does one symbolize change and growth more than the other?

Take a moment to think of your own answers. Notice what other ideas come up for you. Write them down (so you don't forget!). The other reason why English teachers ask you to write things down is because writing helps to develop you're thinking. Sure, you could read through this entire post and agree with the analysis here. But if you don't pause to work through the steps in your own learning, and pause to give your brain a minute to work things out on its own - you won't be exercising your critical thinking, noticing, and analysis skills.

So – before we go too much further... if you're feeling bold - scroll all the way down to the bottom of this post and comment your thoughts:

1. What does it mean to "stay"?
2. What does it mean to "go"?
3. What comes to mind when you think of those terms? What do you picture?
4. If you think about them with regards to "growth," does one symbolize change and growth more than the other?

Symbolizing Change and Growth in Film Story: Act 1 Presents a problem, conflict, or flaw

Let's bring it back to Miles and Jefferson in the car. This is where we started:

Miles' dad, Jefferson, picks him up from his walk to school, and drives him the rest of the way. Miles doesn't want to go to Visions Academy, he thinks it's "elitist" and that he belongs in a school "of the people". Jefferson has a different opinion, he thinks it's an opportunity to attend Visions, one that other people don't get.

If Miles doesn't go to Visions Academy, is he remaining stagnant due to missed opportunities?

Jefferson is too old Visions Academy, he's already a working father. He stays in their home world, grounded, as a police officer. But does this make him stagnant? Is he really missing opportunities or growth? Why or why not?

Does our physical location impact our ability to change and grow?

When? Why?

In Act 1, we see Miles, the protagonist, and even his father, grappling with the conflicts of staying or going. So, we expect over the course of the film to see Miles' journey both internal and external with regards to staying home or changing.

Hang on to the concepts of stasis and transit as we think about what's going on with Miles and Jefferson on the way to school in the morning.

Shot-by-Shot Analysis Part Three: Understanding Stasis and Transit in Visual Storytelling

Continuing on with our analysis of Miles and his father, Jefferson's, relationship as Into the Spiderverse opens, here Miles can begin to exit his father's vehicle after finishing their conversation on the way to school.

At first glance, what do you see?

• Two unhappy guys both leaning away from me? Looking at us?
• They both look like they're giving us the side-eye.
• Who's boxed into a comic book panel now?

It's Jefferson.

Whereas Miles is spilling out that car door.

Have any themes or motifs carried from the last two shots?

• Miles is still on the left side of the frame, Jefferson on the right.
• They are both still divided in the frame, and by the car itself
• Jefferson is still staying in their usual world, "of the people," as Miles put it
• Miles is still going, leaving [in this moment, for Visions Academy]

But what's changed?

• It now looks like Jefferson is in the comic book panel, instead of Miles.
• We, the audience, our vantage point from the camera, have also moved: we are no longer in Miles' or Jefferson's POV in the car, now we are on the outside...
  • Are we considered to be amongst the people attending Visions Academy?
• Miles was just the one who had no choice about staying at his old school or going to Visions, and while this is still true, it looks like he is the one leaving

Miles and Jefferson: A Study in Contrasts & Inversions

Miles is the one leaving his home, his familiar world, but in this moment he is also the one staying at Visions Academy. It's an inversion.

And Jefferson is the one leaving Visions Academy, but he ultimately stays home, in the world "of the people." Another inversion.

It's there, and we can sense it, but they're both still stuck. Nothing major has happened yet. Nothing major has changed yet, as we know it will. So the subtle inversion hints at what's coming, it cues us in visually and we can sense the tension in their relationship, in their distance, in their differing viewpoints. But their framing foreshadows to us that they will be swapping roles at some point.

Stasis. Transit. Inversion.

How do these ideas relate? How might they relate to the idea of the multiverse? And how are they visualized in Into the Spider-verse?

What’s Next

In tomorrow’s post, I’ll share the next shot in this sequence and we'll take a look at how the division between Miles and Jefferson continues to visually transform. We'll continue to build meaning across frames, just like you would across stanzas or paragraphs.

If you’d like to use this shot analysis in your classroom, I'll be adding it next week to the 🎒Spiderverse ELA Survival Pack, which contains:

• Viewing questions
• Scene studies
• Essay prompts + rubrics
• Creative projects
• Motif trackers
• And more…

The pack is 50% off through May 9th, and you’ll get all future additions for free if you buy now.