Killer of Sheep by Charles Burnett is a film that effectively uses noir realism to portray to the viewer the everyday life and mundane routine that many people went through in the city of Los Angeles, especially in the poverty ridden neighborhood of Watts. Using a combination of documentary style film techniques and fictional film techniques, Burnett's choices effectively ˜hit home' in relation to the Post Rebellion context. "Rather than replicating Hollywood's classical realism and linear narrative structure, members of the L.A. School (which Burnett belonged to) drew from a diverse cross-section of filmmaking styles in order to formulate ˜an aesthetic .appropriate to their conditions. They were concerned with finding a film form that was, according to Ntongela Masilela, unique to their historical situation and cultural experience, a form that could not be appropriated by Hollywood "(Massood 23).
The film in itself contains pacing, and framed shots that represent the main character.
Stan's "entrapped " life. Within the mis-en-scene, almost every character Stan speaks with in his ome contains sparse dialogue with slow pacing, as if they have nothing to share with each other. No passions or anything positive is brought out in the open to the table (literally) about life in general. As he speaks with his male friend at his kitchen table, they are framed in a medium tight shot as it cuts to a shot reverse shot of the two (barely) speaking. There is also hardly any movement between the two characters. This creates distance between his friendship and it helps the audience to understand the lack of emotions Stan contains in the diegesis. Later in the film a scene with his wife at the same kitchen table matches the distance created between his friend shot earlier. Between the shot reverse shot and lack of dialogue and movement with his wife in their non-existing conversation, the film's aesthetic choices help reiterate the fact that Stan has not connected to those in his life that he should be the closest to.