Textual Analysis

                                                                         15:30 - 24:15

The Final Gameplay moments from the last of us are seen to be iconic throughout video games and their narratives; the long hall that Joel has to go down, symbolises the last steps of a game, it shows you are near completion and that the story is nearing its conclusion. Being the last stretch this tends to be the make or break point of the game, although being typic of video game and their narrative so far, The Last of us breaks that convention as there is no 'final boss' allowing it to deviate from other video games.

 

The line "come on baby girl...i gotcha" gives the strong impression that Joel cares for Ellie, the word baby symbolises that he considers her and treats her like his daughter; Similar to the opening of the game where Joel is seen carrying his actual daughter from danger he is now carrying Ellie. The way Joel moves and carry's Ellie is exactly the same as the beginning of the game. This could further give of the impression that Ellie is now being treated like she is Joel's Daughter, a possible replacement for his biological daughter - Sarah who dies at the beginning. Potentially being a (reinstatement of the equilibrium) as what was at the start is now reinstated at the end.

The final Cutscene of the game is a conversation between Ellie and Joel; this cutscene is shot in shot/reverse shot, this allows you to see how the characters interact with each-other and how they react. Emphasising this point is the final words by each character is also framed from a medium close-up shot, this allows you to focus on the characters and their final words; this tends to be how many video games where the narrative is dominated by cutscenes end; it allows the raw emotion of the characters to be expressed via the use of the close-up.

During your play through as Joel whilst you're in the hospital the mise-en scene pushes the narrative of the story forward; playing the game Joel is trapped in the dark hallways of the hospital, one of the few and the brightest sources of light is the elevator you are being pursued towards; the elevator is lit up so the story can progress and you have some-sort of idea where to go and what happens next